CHAPTER 27 - Namárië, Mirkwood
In the dull, grey light of dawn, the princes of Mirkwood, each one covered with a cloak like the ones the elves of Imladris wore, sat on their horses with the rest of the Imladris host, hidden from view. Not too far away, Lord Elrond was speaking softly in Sindarin with Captain Silnan. The faithful captain was to ride along with the Imladris elves for the first day of the journey before turning back for the halls.
As prince Legolas watched the captain from under his hood, guilt burned in his heart. He felt terrible for deceiving the captain of Mirkwood who he had known all his life. Then again, many of the tongue lashings he had received for various pranks and jokes had come from the very same elf. The more Legolas thought about it, the more it became clear that Silnan hated him, just like all the other elves of Mirkwood.
Lord Elrond and Captain Silnan whispered something to their horses, and the horses began to trot down the path. As soon as the two horses had begun to move, all the other horses followed suit. Legolas looked around for what he suspected would be the last time at the only place he had ever known as home.
One of the younger guards accompanying the Imladris elves was watching Legolas closely. The young prince gasped when he realised, and quickly turned his head around, pulling at the hood of his cloak so his face was completely shadowed. Nilwethion, who was ridding beside him, nudged Legolas.
"What is it?" he whispered.
"I think the guard just behind us to our right is watching me," replied Legolas in low tones. Nilwethion turned his head slightly to look, and his eyes locked with those of the guards for a moment. The guard looked a little confused for a moment, but then turned away.
"I do not know him, and I certainly hope he did not recognise us, little Greenleaf. No doubt if he does recognise us, he will tell Captain Silnan. I will go and tell the others." The elder of the two princes increased the speed of his horse to catch up with the other princes, who were in front, ridding close to Elladan and Elrohir.
Nilwethion, Oroweth and Astaler became deeply embedded in a conversation about the watching guard, and Nuryävié and Thellind were ridding someway behind Legolas, leaving the young prince alone. For a while, the elf was content just to look around and look at the dark trees around him, and listen to the sounds in the shadows made by the squirrels and birds. As they continued deeper in to the forest, even though it was morning, the light grew less and less. The guards lit their torches, and held the flames above their heads as they did when hunting.
By mid-day, Legolas realised that Nilwethion had forgotten about him, as the prince had now begun talking quietly with Elladan and Elrohir. The young prince did not mind very much though, and began to hum softly to himself, soothing the sadness in his heart. An elf on a dappled grey horse trotted up next to Legolas and pulled back her hood.
It was Aliela.
Legolas blinked in surprise, having not seen her since the day they wee attacked by orcs in the pool. The day disaster and tragedy had shaken the lives of the Mirkwood royal family. Aliela smiled nervously at him.
"Well met, prince Legolas," she said quietly. Having got over his initial shock at seeing the elven maiden, Legolas smiled back at her.
"Well met indeed, Lady Aliela," he replied
They rode in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say to each other. At last, Legolas asked tentatively; "How is your leg?"
"Much better than it was, thankyou," replied the elven maiden shyly, "Though your healers kept me in bed for almost a week. How did you escape their clutches so quickly?"
A shadow of a smile crossed Legolas' face as he recalled the many times he had been dragged or carried along to the healers, each time to be met with a roll of the eyes and a disapproving tut.
"I have had plenty of practise," he said, looking in to Aliela's pretty eyes. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain further. Legolas carried on.
"Once, for instance, Nilwethion and I were looking after Calensil - Thellind was with some of the novices, training - and we were clambering about in the trees. Calensil was only small at the time, so she overbalanced and fell off the branch. I caught her just in time, but fell off the branch myself, grabbed hold of Nilwethion's arm and pulled him off by accident. Luckily he managed to hook his leg around the branch, but we were left swinging there, completely stuck. Astaler passed by, and I dropped Calensil in to his arms, but then he left Nilwethion and I swinging there because we left nettles in his bed the night before. Nilwethion lost his grip and we both fell like stones. I broke my arm and dislocated my shoulder, and he broke his wrist. Somehow, we walked away from the healers within two days."
Aliela tried to suppress a laugh, but her eyes sparkled with mirth and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Her shoulders, covered in the lavender coloured cloak, began to shake, and a muffled giggle escaped her lips.
"I apologise," she said quickly, "I ought not laugh,"
"I do not mind," replied Legolas, "We have laughed about it many times since then. We have done much worse than that."
Aliela smiled softly, and her eyes twinkled she passed through a ray of light that had found its way down through the trees.
"You sound very much like Elladan and Elrohir,"
"Under better circumstances, I think we would have enjoyed playing tricks together on my brothers."
"I thought you were very close to your brothers," queried Aliela. Legolas looked at her sadly and nodded. Although he was remembering the good times of his life, with every step his horse took he grew further away from them, and every memory included his mother and sister. Thinking about them was still very painful.
"We are, but it does not show much of the time. Many people believe we hate each other, but really Nilwethion, Thellind and I just enjoy angering the others. I do not really understand how it works, it just does. You said that you have brothers that night at the feast - what are they like?"
Legolas listened to Aliela as she told him everything he asked about in great detail. First she told him about her siblings, both of whom spent their time studying ancient texts in Elrond's library. She then told him about her parents, and then moved on to the beauty and lightness of Imladris. She described the house of Elrond itself, and the lands around it - the narrow path leading up to it, the waterfall, the airy woods and the statues.
Although he listened to everything Aliela talked about, the young prince found much of what his companion was saying very confusing, and he could not imagine it. Having never left the shadowy forest of Mirkwood, so full of darkness and danger, Legolas did not really understand the idea of such a light and peaceful life that was being described to him. What he did notice was the way Aliela's eyes seemed to glaze over, as if she was no longer in Mirkwood, but seeing the places she spoke of.
It came as a surprise to both of them when Elladan and Elrohir trotted up, one on either side, and interrupted the flow of Aliela's words.
"We heard Aliela talking about our dear Imladris, so we came to listen," Elladan informed the pair.
"She is good with words, you see, and we have not seen our home for what feels like years, so we wanted to hear about it instead," chimed in Elrohir. The elf maiden blushed a furious red colour.
"Oh," Elladan said, in a much lower voice, looking around quickly to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, "And we though we ought to tell you - that guard keeps looking over at you. I think he suspects something."
Legolas and Aliela looked around at the guard the twins had indicated too. He was indeed watching them, and after holding Legolas' glance for a moment, he looked away in to the darkness of the trees and frowned.
"He was watching Nilwethion and I earlier," the prince muttered. He bit his lip, and the twins exchanged a worried look. Aliela, however, looked confused. She did not realise that the princes were attempting to stay hidden from their people, and had thought that the guards knew they were there. She looked from one face to the next, wishing she understood what was going on.
"Shall we go and speak to him?" asked Elrohir, quietly. Legolas nodded.
"If he has worked out who I am, tell him that I command him to keep his mouth shut. If he does not know.make something up. Say I am from Imladris."
The twins nodded silently and fell back to where the guard was marching along. While Elladan and Elrohir conversed with the guard, Legolas faced strait ahead in to the gloom. Aliela, however, kept turning round to look at the twins and the guard. Legolas gave her a small nudge and shook his head at her.
"What is going on?" she asked
"Hush, keep it down. I cannot explain here - I will tell you everything later. For now, just stop looking at the guard."
Although she was not satisfied, Aliela sighed and gave in. Instead, she stared strait ahead of her at the riders in front, as Legolas was. After a few minutes, the twins returned.
"He did not recognise you, but he knows the stallion apparently. He said he works in the stables sometimes, helping his brother, and he was wondering why a strange elf from Imladris was riding the horse belonging to his prince. We could not think of a story, so we had to tell him the truth. He is now under strict orders to make sure that no harm comes to you while we remain in Mirkwood, and to keep his mouth firmly shut if he is truly loyal to you."
Legolas looked around at the guard, who was now watching him. The guard was a little short for an elf, and he had long blonde hair framing his narrow face. He had watery blue eyes, a pointed nose and high cheekbones. The elf bowed slightly to Legolas.
"Who is he?" asked Legolas, turning back to the twins.
"Inithil son of Luinorn. Have you ever heard of him?"
Legolas thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
"Never. I know Luinorn though. He trains some of the novices. He trained me, as it happens. A fine teacher, but I got on the wrong end of his temper many times. I doubt he liked me too much."
Elrohir and Elladan smirked. They had been trained by Glorfindel, and most days the elf could be heard lecturing them, so they understood exactly what Legolas was talking about.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The elves had been journeying through the gloom of Mirkwood for two days, and captain Silnan and the royal guards were preparing to turn around and go back to the caves that made up the palace where king Thranduil lived.
Inithil had watched Legolas constantly through the journey, though the young guard had never attempted to speak to his prince, and nor did he realize that the other five princes were also there, as he had been focused completely on Legolas.
As the Imladris elves disappeared along the path in to the darkness, captain Silnan beckoned to Inithil. Nervously, Inithil approached the captain.
"Yes sir?"
"You were watching one of the Imladris elves very closely. Why?"
The guard froze, trying to come up with a plausible answer that would not make him a traitor to the prince.
"I. . . I was admiring her beauty, sir."
Silnan gave Inithil a look of disbelief.
"Her? The elf you were watching was no lady, Inithil."
"The elf in the lilac cloak, sir, riding the dappled grey horse?" Inithil stammered. He was not a natural liar, and he hated lying in any form. The elf hoped that this would work in his favor, as he had never lied before, and his commanding officers knew that. Silnan eyed him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you were not watching the lord she was riding with? That is what I have heard."
Inithil shook his head.
"No sir, I was not watching him. Although he did have a very fine horse. Perhaps that is why somebody though I was watching the lord, sir?"
The captain was not satisfied with the answer, but decided to let it lie until they were back in the halls of the king. Then, he would press Inithil for every single detail. He motioned to Inithil to go back to his place, and Inithil hurried off with a sigh of relief.
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In the caves of the Mirkwood palace, Thranduil and Mithrandir were sitting in the royal study, debating the princes. Thranduil was standing looking at a portrait of his wife holding baby Astaler with a small Oroweth sitting on her knee, pride written all over his face. Oroweth looked very much like a girl as a child, and many said that he still did look very feminine. The simple fact of the matter was that the prince was almost an exact replica, and for that reason alone Thranduil had not been able to look at his son once during the funeral. Well. . . that and terror at what injuries he would see, still inflicting his son.
"Where did I go wrong, Mithrandir?" he asked, "Until lord Elrond and his household came, I believed myself to be a good adar. The younger ones were always playing tricks, and I did have to give them many lectures and punishments, but I always loved them. They did know that, did they not?"
The old, grey wizard rested his hand on the king's shoulder.
"Of course they did, my friend."
"So where did I go wrong?" moaned the king. He picked up a goblet of wine from his desk and raised it to his lips to drink, but changed his mind and put it back down.
"Thellind never liked too much wine," he stated, "No, Thellind did not like much wine and Nuryävié stopped eating meat. The young ones would run around like wild animals, despite years of warrior training. Where oh where did I go wrong? Ought I have spent more time with them? I would have done if I could, but affairs of state always got in the way. They did understand, did they not?"
"I am sure they did," said Mithrandir, soothingly. He smiled gently from under the wide brim of his grey hat. "They also had to obey the call of duty,"
Thranduil nodded and pushed his crown of berries back on to his head as it threatened to slip off. He turned to look at another portrait, this one of very young Thellind, Nilwethion and Legolas, looking very bored. They were dressed in identical, mossy green tunics with silver circlets around their heads. The king recalled watching the portrait being painted, and having to bribe the young princes in to staying still with the promise of being taken out on a family picnic - just the family, no guards in sight.
He then remembered the picnic, sitting with Imlammthien, joining his sons chasing after each other in a wild game with constantly changing rules. He remembered the happiness of that day when Imlammthien announced that she was pregnant again, and the joy on the faces of his sons.
For a moment the king smiled at the happy memories, but then his face fell as he his current situation came flooding back. His darling Imlammthien was dead, lying in her tomb with her daughter and unborn child, and his sons hating him.
"Mithrandir," he said suddenly, "Where are my sons?"
Mithrandir sat down on one of the velvet covered seats and rested his arm on the table. He paused, and then decided that he may as well tell Thranduil It had been two days, after all, since the princes had left.
"Your sons are. . ." he began, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Enter!" called Thranduil. Culkemen, newly made a chapter, pushed open the door and looked nervously in.
"I apologize for interrupting, my lords, but a messenger has arrived from Dale with news of orc sightings. He wishes to speak with you."
"Show him in then," ordered the king, sitting in the large, imposing chair behind his desk. Mithrandir sighed. If only he had been given a few more seconds. . .
Culkemen reappeared, this time with the messenger from Dale. He was dressed in black, with a muddy black cloak fastened with a silver broach. His face was dirty from the journey, and his messy black hair hung around his shoulders. He bowed to Thranduil
"Thranduil, king of Mirkwood," he said, "I am Baran son of Beleg of Dale, and I come with evil tidings from my lord."
The king nodded to the messenger to carry on, and noted the way the mortal's eyes flicked around the study, taking everything in. Mithrandir stood up and moved away from the desk slightly, letting Thranduil and Baran look at each other eye to eye.
"Almost two hundred orcs have been spotted fleeing away from Mirkwood, and they have attacked some of our less defended farms. We heard news of your trouble with orcs, and my lord decided to inform you, incase they were indeed the same ones and you wanted a say in their destruction. . ." the man trailed off and shifted under the smoldering gaze of the elven king. By the door, captain Culkemen cringed as she realized how angry the king had suddenly become at the mention of the orcs. The king slammed his fist down hard on his table, making everything on it move.
"Culkemen! You have twenty minutes to assemble fifty of our best warriors by the palace gates! If you are not there in twenty minutes, I will ride without you!"
"Your majesty," stammered the unfortunate messenger from Dale, "There are two hundred of the orcs!"
The enraged king turned on the mortal, his bottle green robes swishing impressively around him.
"Do not tell me how to fight battles! I know my own troops! Go back to Dale and inform your lord that the king of Mirkwood claims the orcs as his, and will kill every last one of them!"
Terrified, Baran bowed quickly to the king and made for the door, but the king stopped him, this time a little more kindly.
"Baran!" The mortal turned around, and king Thranduil threw a fairly small but heavy bag at him. "For the farmsteads."
Looking inside the bag, Baran gasped. There were more gold coins than he had ever seen in his life, and was ever likely to see again. He muttered his thanks and fled the study. Culkemen followed, running to find the fifty warriors within the time limit. Thranduil turned to Mithrandir.
"If you will excuse me Mithrandir, I have orcs to kill," he said, and stormed out.
Mithrandir sat back down in his chair, and cradled his head in his hands. Why did everything have to go wrong?
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A/N: Look people! A decent sized, on time chapter! A few new OC's in this chapter, but they all play a part in the plot. Just four more reviews until that big 300!
PERSONAL REVIEW THINGY
IMBEFANIEL ~ I have one or two of them as well. I think of them as first thoughts, second thoughts and third thoughts. They used to have names, but everyone kept blaming everything on each other, so I ended up getting very confused.
MORBID WIND ~ Aliela? *grins* *points to chapter* nothing happened to her, she just didn't play a part in that bit of the fic, see?
MAVERICK GIRL ~ you are assuming that they get to Imladris in the first place. The whole plan was that Thranduil reaches the princes before they even left Mirkwood, remember?
MOONMIST ~ better get that essay done! Not good to leave essays too late. Don't worry, I'll let the whole world know if I ever get anything published!
PIRATE-CHICHA ~ if it's sweet you're wanting, the only thing that I've written that's completely sweet is My Little Sister.
ORODRUIN ~ look! I made it! I actually started writing this chapter last Sunday, but ff.net was playing silly beggars, and I didn't have the patience with it to wait until it started acting nicely again.
COOLIO02 ~ thanks for reading My Little Sister as well!
In the dull, grey light of dawn, the princes of Mirkwood, each one covered with a cloak like the ones the elves of Imladris wore, sat on their horses with the rest of the Imladris host, hidden from view. Not too far away, Lord Elrond was speaking softly in Sindarin with Captain Silnan. The faithful captain was to ride along with the Imladris elves for the first day of the journey before turning back for the halls.
As prince Legolas watched the captain from under his hood, guilt burned in his heart. He felt terrible for deceiving the captain of Mirkwood who he had known all his life. Then again, many of the tongue lashings he had received for various pranks and jokes had come from the very same elf. The more Legolas thought about it, the more it became clear that Silnan hated him, just like all the other elves of Mirkwood.
Lord Elrond and Captain Silnan whispered something to their horses, and the horses began to trot down the path. As soon as the two horses had begun to move, all the other horses followed suit. Legolas looked around for what he suspected would be the last time at the only place he had ever known as home.
One of the younger guards accompanying the Imladris elves was watching Legolas closely. The young prince gasped when he realised, and quickly turned his head around, pulling at the hood of his cloak so his face was completely shadowed. Nilwethion, who was ridding beside him, nudged Legolas.
"What is it?" he whispered.
"I think the guard just behind us to our right is watching me," replied Legolas in low tones. Nilwethion turned his head slightly to look, and his eyes locked with those of the guards for a moment. The guard looked a little confused for a moment, but then turned away.
"I do not know him, and I certainly hope he did not recognise us, little Greenleaf. No doubt if he does recognise us, he will tell Captain Silnan. I will go and tell the others." The elder of the two princes increased the speed of his horse to catch up with the other princes, who were in front, ridding close to Elladan and Elrohir.
Nilwethion, Oroweth and Astaler became deeply embedded in a conversation about the watching guard, and Nuryävié and Thellind were ridding someway behind Legolas, leaving the young prince alone. For a while, the elf was content just to look around and look at the dark trees around him, and listen to the sounds in the shadows made by the squirrels and birds. As they continued deeper in to the forest, even though it was morning, the light grew less and less. The guards lit their torches, and held the flames above their heads as they did when hunting.
By mid-day, Legolas realised that Nilwethion had forgotten about him, as the prince had now begun talking quietly with Elladan and Elrohir. The young prince did not mind very much though, and began to hum softly to himself, soothing the sadness in his heart. An elf on a dappled grey horse trotted up next to Legolas and pulled back her hood.
It was Aliela.
Legolas blinked in surprise, having not seen her since the day they wee attacked by orcs in the pool. The day disaster and tragedy had shaken the lives of the Mirkwood royal family. Aliela smiled nervously at him.
"Well met, prince Legolas," she said quietly. Having got over his initial shock at seeing the elven maiden, Legolas smiled back at her.
"Well met indeed, Lady Aliela," he replied
They rode in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say to each other. At last, Legolas asked tentatively; "How is your leg?"
"Much better than it was, thankyou," replied the elven maiden shyly, "Though your healers kept me in bed for almost a week. How did you escape their clutches so quickly?"
A shadow of a smile crossed Legolas' face as he recalled the many times he had been dragged or carried along to the healers, each time to be met with a roll of the eyes and a disapproving tut.
"I have had plenty of practise," he said, looking in to Aliela's pretty eyes. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain further. Legolas carried on.
"Once, for instance, Nilwethion and I were looking after Calensil - Thellind was with some of the novices, training - and we were clambering about in the trees. Calensil was only small at the time, so she overbalanced and fell off the branch. I caught her just in time, but fell off the branch myself, grabbed hold of Nilwethion's arm and pulled him off by accident. Luckily he managed to hook his leg around the branch, but we were left swinging there, completely stuck. Astaler passed by, and I dropped Calensil in to his arms, but then he left Nilwethion and I swinging there because we left nettles in his bed the night before. Nilwethion lost his grip and we both fell like stones. I broke my arm and dislocated my shoulder, and he broke his wrist. Somehow, we walked away from the healers within two days."
Aliela tried to suppress a laugh, but her eyes sparkled with mirth and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Her shoulders, covered in the lavender coloured cloak, began to shake, and a muffled giggle escaped her lips.
"I apologise," she said quickly, "I ought not laugh,"
"I do not mind," replied Legolas, "We have laughed about it many times since then. We have done much worse than that."
Aliela smiled softly, and her eyes twinkled she passed through a ray of light that had found its way down through the trees.
"You sound very much like Elladan and Elrohir,"
"Under better circumstances, I think we would have enjoyed playing tricks together on my brothers."
"I thought you were very close to your brothers," queried Aliela. Legolas looked at her sadly and nodded. Although he was remembering the good times of his life, with every step his horse took he grew further away from them, and every memory included his mother and sister. Thinking about them was still very painful.
"We are, but it does not show much of the time. Many people believe we hate each other, but really Nilwethion, Thellind and I just enjoy angering the others. I do not really understand how it works, it just does. You said that you have brothers that night at the feast - what are they like?"
Legolas listened to Aliela as she told him everything he asked about in great detail. First she told him about her siblings, both of whom spent their time studying ancient texts in Elrond's library. She then told him about her parents, and then moved on to the beauty and lightness of Imladris. She described the house of Elrond itself, and the lands around it - the narrow path leading up to it, the waterfall, the airy woods and the statues.
Although he listened to everything Aliela talked about, the young prince found much of what his companion was saying very confusing, and he could not imagine it. Having never left the shadowy forest of Mirkwood, so full of darkness and danger, Legolas did not really understand the idea of such a light and peaceful life that was being described to him. What he did notice was the way Aliela's eyes seemed to glaze over, as if she was no longer in Mirkwood, but seeing the places she spoke of.
It came as a surprise to both of them when Elladan and Elrohir trotted up, one on either side, and interrupted the flow of Aliela's words.
"We heard Aliela talking about our dear Imladris, so we came to listen," Elladan informed the pair.
"She is good with words, you see, and we have not seen our home for what feels like years, so we wanted to hear about it instead," chimed in Elrohir. The elf maiden blushed a furious red colour.
"Oh," Elladan said, in a much lower voice, looking around quickly to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, "And we though we ought to tell you - that guard keeps looking over at you. I think he suspects something."
Legolas and Aliela looked around at the guard the twins had indicated too. He was indeed watching them, and after holding Legolas' glance for a moment, he looked away in to the darkness of the trees and frowned.
"He was watching Nilwethion and I earlier," the prince muttered. He bit his lip, and the twins exchanged a worried look. Aliela, however, looked confused. She did not realise that the princes were attempting to stay hidden from their people, and had thought that the guards knew they were there. She looked from one face to the next, wishing she understood what was going on.
"Shall we go and speak to him?" asked Elrohir, quietly. Legolas nodded.
"If he has worked out who I am, tell him that I command him to keep his mouth shut. If he does not know.make something up. Say I am from Imladris."
The twins nodded silently and fell back to where the guard was marching along. While Elladan and Elrohir conversed with the guard, Legolas faced strait ahead in to the gloom. Aliela, however, kept turning round to look at the twins and the guard. Legolas gave her a small nudge and shook his head at her.
"What is going on?" she asked
"Hush, keep it down. I cannot explain here - I will tell you everything later. For now, just stop looking at the guard."
Although she was not satisfied, Aliela sighed and gave in. Instead, she stared strait ahead of her at the riders in front, as Legolas was. After a few minutes, the twins returned.
"He did not recognise you, but he knows the stallion apparently. He said he works in the stables sometimes, helping his brother, and he was wondering why a strange elf from Imladris was riding the horse belonging to his prince. We could not think of a story, so we had to tell him the truth. He is now under strict orders to make sure that no harm comes to you while we remain in Mirkwood, and to keep his mouth firmly shut if he is truly loyal to you."
Legolas looked around at the guard, who was now watching him. The guard was a little short for an elf, and he had long blonde hair framing his narrow face. He had watery blue eyes, a pointed nose and high cheekbones. The elf bowed slightly to Legolas.
"Who is he?" asked Legolas, turning back to the twins.
"Inithil son of Luinorn. Have you ever heard of him?"
Legolas thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
"Never. I know Luinorn though. He trains some of the novices. He trained me, as it happens. A fine teacher, but I got on the wrong end of his temper many times. I doubt he liked me too much."
Elrohir and Elladan smirked. They had been trained by Glorfindel, and most days the elf could be heard lecturing them, so they understood exactly what Legolas was talking about.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The elves had been journeying through the gloom of Mirkwood for two days, and captain Silnan and the royal guards were preparing to turn around and go back to the caves that made up the palace where king Thranduil lived.
Inithil had watched Legolas constantly through the journey, though the young guard had never attempted to speak to his prince, and nor did he realize that the other five princes were also there, as he had been focused completely on Legolas.
As the Imladris elves disappeared along the path in to the darkness, captain Silnan beckoned to Inithil. Nervously, Inithil approached the captain.
"Yes sir?"
"You were watching one of the Imladris elves very closely. Why?"
The guard froze, trying to come up with a plausible answer that would not make him a traitor to the prince.
"I. . . I was admiring her beauty, sir."
Silnan gave Inithil a look of disbelief.
"Her? The elf you were watching was no lady, Inithil."
"The elf in the lilac cloak, sir, riding the dappled grey horse?" Inithil stammered. He was not a natural liar, and he hated lying in any form. The elf hoped that this would work in his favor, as he had never lied before, and his commanding officers knew that. Silnan eyed him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you were not watching the lord she was riding with? That is what I have heard."
Inithil shook his head.
"No sir, I was not watching him. Although he did have a very fine horse. Perhaps that is why somebody though I was watching the lord, sir?"
The captain was not satisfied with the answer, but decided to let it lie until they were back in the halls of the king. Then, he would press Inithil for every single detail. He motioned to Inithil to go back to his place, and Inithil hurried off with a sigh of relief.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the caves of the Mirkwood palace, Thranduil and Mithrandir were sitting in the royal study, debating the princes. Thranduil was standing looking at a portrait of his wife holding baby Astaler with a small Oroweth sitting on her knee, pride written all over his face. Oroweth looked very much like a girl as a child, and many said that he still did look very feminine. The simple fact of the matter was that the prince was almost an exact replica, and for that reason alone Thranduil had not been able to look at his son once during the funeral. Well. . . that and terror at what injuries he would see, still inflicting his son.
"Where did I go wrong, Mithrandir?" he asked, "Until lord Elrond and his household came, I believed myself to be a good adar. The younger ones were always playing tricks, and I did have to give them many lectures and punishments, but I always loved them. They did know that, did they not?"
The old, grey wizard rested his hand on the king's shoulder.
"Of course they did, my friend."
"So where did I go wrong?" moaned the king. He picked up a goblet of wine from his desk and raised it to his lips to drink, but changed his mind and put it back down.
"Thellind never liked too much wine," he stated, "No, Thellind did not like much wine and Nuryävié stopped eating meat. The young ones would run around like wild animals, despite years of warrior training. Where oh where did I go wrong? Ought I have spent more time with them? I would have done if I could, but affairs of state always got in the way. They did understand, did they not?"
"I am sure they did," said Mithrandir, soothingly. He smiled gently from under the wide brim of his grey hat. "They also had to obey the call of duty,"
Thranduil nodded and pushed his crown of berries back on to his head as it threatened to slip off. He turned to look at another portrait, this one of very young Thellind, Nilwethion and Legolas, looking very bored. They were dressed in identical, mossy green tunics with silver circlets around their heads. The king recalled watching the portrait being painted, and having to bribe the young princes in to staying still with the promise of being taken out on a family picnic - just the family, no guards in sight.
He then remembered the picnic, sitting with Imlammthien, joining his sons chasing after each other in a wild game with constantly changing rules. He remembered the happiness of that day when Imlammthien announced that she was pregnant again, and the joy on the faces of his sons.
For a moment the king smiled at the happy memories, but then his face fell as he his current situation came flooding back. His darling Imlammthien was dead, lying in her tomb with her daughter and unborn child, and his sons hating him.
"Mithrandir," he said suddenly, "Where are my sons?"
Mithrandir sat down on one of the velvet covered seats and rested his arm on the table. He paused, and then decided that he may as well tell Thranduil It had been two days, after all, since the princes had left.
"Your sons are. . ." he began, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Enter!" called Thranduil. Culkemen, newly made a chapter, pushed open the door and looked nervously in.
"I apologize for interrupting, my lords, but a messenger has arrived from Dale with news of orc sightings. He wishes to speak with you."
"Show him in then," ordered the king, sitting in the large, imposing chair behind his desk. Mithrandir sighed. If only he had been given a few more seconds. . .
Culkemen reappeared, this time with the messenger from Dale. He was dressed in black, with a muddy black cloak fastened with a silver broach. His face was dirty from the journey, and his messy black hair hung around his shoulders. He bowed to Thranduil
"Thranduil, king of Mirkwood," he said, "I am Baran son of Beleg of Dale, and I come with evil tidings from my lord."
The king nodded to the messenger to carry on, and noted the way the mortal's eyes flicked around the study, taking everything in. Mithrandir stood up and moved away from the desk slightly, letting Thranduil and Baran look at each other eye to eye.
"Almost two hundred orcs have been spotted fleeing away from Mirkwood, and they have attacked some of our less defended farms. We heard news of your trouble with orcs, and my lord decided to inform you, incase they were indeed the same ones and you wanted a say in their destruction. . ." the man trailed off and shifted under the smoldering gaze of the elven king. By the door, captain Culkemen cringed as she realized how angry the king had suddenly become at the mention of the orcs. The king slammed his fist down hard on his table, making everything on it move.
"Culkemen! You have twenty minutes to assemble fifty of our best warriors by the palace gates! If you are not there in twenty minutes, I will ride without you!"
"Your majesty," stammered the unfortunate messenger from Dale, "There are two hundred of the orcs!"
The enraged king turned on the mortal, his bottle green robes swishing impressively around him.
"Do not tell me how to fight battles! I know my own troops! Go back to Dale and inform your lord that the king of Mirkwood claims the orcs as his, and will kill every last one of them!"
Terrified, Baran bowed quickly to the king and made for the door, but the king stopped him, this time a little more kindly.
"Baran!" The mortal turned around, and king Thranduil threw a fairly small but heavy bag at him. "For the farmsteads."
Looking inside the bag, Baran gasped. There were more gold coins than he had ever seen in his life, and was ever likely to see again. He muttered his thanks and fled the study. Culkemen followed, running to find the fifty warriors within the time limit. Thranduil turned to Mithrandir.
"If you will excuse me Mithrandir, I have orcs to kill," he said, and stormed out.
Mithrandir sat back down in his chair, and cradled his head in his hands. Why did everything have to go wrong?
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A/N: Look people! A decent sized, on time chapter! A few new OC's in this chapter, but they all play a part in the plot. Just four more reviews until that big 300!
PERSONAL REVIEW THINGY
IMBEFANIEL ~ I have one or two of them as well. I think of them as first thoughts, second thoughts and third thoughts. They used to have names, but everyone kept blaming everything on each other, so I ended up getting very confused.
MORBID WIND ~ Aliela? *grins* *points to chapter* nothing happened to her, she just didn't play a part in that bit of the fic, see?
MAVERICK GIRL ~ you are assuming that they get to Imladris in the first place. The whole plan was that Thranduil reaches the princes before they even left Mirkwood, remember?
MOONMIST ~ better get that essay done! Not good to leave essays too late. Don't worry, I'll let the whole world know if I ever get anything published!
PIRATE-CHICHA ~ if it's sweet you're wanting, the only thing that I've written that's completely sweet is My Little Sister.
ORODRUIN ~ look! I made it! I actually started writing this chapter last Sunday, but ff.net was playing silly beggars, and I didn't have the patience with it to wait until it started acting nicely again.
COOLIO02 ~ thanks for reading My Little Sister as well!