Disclaimer: See chapter 1, please. Basically it says I own nothing!
Please see Chapter 1 for updated A/N part 2! Thank you!
Beta: Yippie! Here is chapter 5, all betaed up by Akedhi, who really must hate me for all those subordinate clauses *lol*! :) *hugs beta* Thank you!
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Responses to reviews:
First of all a big hug and thank you to all my reviewers. You really made my day! :)
Karri: We talked about it via Email and I hope you're satisfied with the solution I have found for this :)
Farflung: I'm glad you like it! And yes, Legolas will fight side by side with those warriors one day and Sel will become a very dear friend indeed. :)
Lamoo: Thank you so much! And yes, both father and son definitely need a veeery big hug! Actually Thranduil needs it even worse than Legolas.
Chloe Amethyst: Thank you so much! *dances around happily* Your summary of my Thranduil characterization is exactly what I wanted my readers to see in him! I'm so glad it worked! :) For the "being afraid of bearded man"-part – most children seem to be afraid of men with beards for some reason, so I thought it might be the same with elflings. I also thought Gandalf is quite a peculiar and very authoritative guy, isn't he? So I thought children would surely act a bit cautiously around him before they got to know him and even if they knew him they'd still be reserved and respectful, but not our brave little Legolas, of course! ;) Uhm, what else? Ah, yes, uhm, no, I don't do archery. I did a bit of research though, so I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself and it was worth it coz before the research I didn't even know that you have to aim higher to hit your target (thinking about it: stupid me!). Still I'm sure any archery teacher would like to give me a beating for this scene and would ramble on for hours how it would have been described properly etc. etc., but I honestly tried my best, so... ;) I'd love to do archery though and I definitely wouldn't mind to have Sel as my teacher *lol*. For the age-appropriate note: my big sister works in a kindergarten and I picked her up from work one day and watched the children for some time while waiting for her. That helped a bit, I think.
Joee1: Glad you like it! And don't worry about the beating. Everything is going to be alright…
TigerRain: Well, I'm very sorry to say this, but at the moment I don't think there'll be any space or reason for Elrohir, Elladan and/or Arwen to appear in this story. Mhmm. *thinks* But maybe I'll write a sequel or another story including all of them later, alrighty? :) Oh, please be gentle with Thranduil – he's still in grief for his wife and he doesn't know what he's doing! He's a very worried single father who doesn't have a clue how to deal with the situation and who definitely needs some healing! ;) – Plus he's damn stubborn! Hehe…
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Father and Son – Chapter 5
The next morning, everyone in the palace was awakened by the happy, angelic laughter of a certain little elfling.
King Thranduil got up and stepped out on the balcony attached to his large chamber and looked down into the courtyard. He had to smile as he spotted Legolas down there, squirming on the lap of his nursemaid, an older elf called Míriel, who was mercilessly tickling him.
Since his mother's death Míriel took care of Legolas in the mornings to help him get up, wash and dress and comb and braid his hair. She also brought him to bed and tucked him in the evenings. Usually she left him alone for the rest of the day because if he did not go to the archery ground - which was very seldom the case - he liked spending his day at the stables or in the kitchen. If he did that he rode and groomed his pony, played with the head groom's dog, read picture books, draw pictures for his Ada or occasionally helped the cook baking cakes and bread. He did not really need his nursemaid for that, but she always stayed in the palace area, spending her day in one of the beautiful gardens or in the servants' quarters, so Legolas could always find her if he wanted to.
Most days he went with some of the warriors to the archery ground anyway. The nursemaid, mother of two grown up sons, did not like that idea much though. Therefore she sometimes stayed a bit longer with Legolas and played with him in the morning just to make sure he would not spend the entire day at the archery field every single day of his young life. She did not consider it good for the boy to be around warriors all the time - no matter how much he loved to. And she was glad to know that the boy soon would be taking lessons in language, history, art, etc. so he would be busy with that for the most part of his day. Of course that also meant that soon he also would be taking proper lessons in weaponry but she rather push such thoughts aside...
As Legolas tickled her in return she laughed and threw her head back. That was when she caught sight of her king. She stopped laughing and jumped to her feet immediately, almost tossing Legolas to the ground. With an instinctive reaction she got hold of the child's arms and set him safely down on his feet.
"My Lord! Good morning. Forgive me, your Highness, we did not mean to wake you…" she stuttered embarrassedly.
"Mhmph." Thranduil waved forgivingly suppressing a yawn. "Please, inform the kitchen, we shall have breakfast in the garden. You're dismissed, dear Míriel," he replied kindly. She smiled, bowed and rushed away.
Legolas locked eyes with his father for a moment. Thranduil felt uneasy; he did not quite know what to say after everything that had happened yesterday. And surely he did not feel any better about what was going to happen today, either.
"I would have a word with you in my study after breakfast, Legolas. So do not make any plans for the rest of the day, am I understood?" he finally said, with a stern frown on his fair face.
"Yes, Ada." Legolas swallowed hard, knowing he was in trouble once again. Being summoned to his Ada's study was always a bad thing.
"And Legolas?"
"Yes, Ada?"
"Wash your hands before breakfast. Meet me in the garden immediately after you're done. You have five minutes."
"Yes, Ada," the child replied and dashed away.
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Elrond, who had watched and overheard the conversation from his guest room, was on full alert. He hastily threw on his tunic, jumped in his leggings and left his chamber. He strode up down the corridor to Mithrandir's room. Before he even got the chance to knock at the door, it swung open and Mithrandir almost collided with him as he rushed outside.
"Have you heard? After breakfast…" Elrond gasped.
"Yes. We must bring him back to his senses!" Gandalf all but flew down the corridors and stairs, outside into the garden with Elrond right on his heels.
Thranduil was already there, sitting in the warm morning sun. Two servants bustled about, adding two more place settings and bringing more of the fresh fruits, dry meat, vegetables, warm bread and tea, and a mug of hot milk for Legolas.
Gandalf and Elrond took their seats, hoping Legolas would take his time so they would have the chance to talk to the king before the little one arrived. Before either of them could speak the elfling came running down the stairs and jumped the last three steps.
They exchanged worried looks, cursing themselves for not acting faster, but smiled almost innocently as Legolas approached them and hugged each of them good morning.
"Did you sleep well, Master Prince?" Gandalf asked, shooting Thranduil a nervous look across the table.
"Yes, Uncle Dir. You too?" Legolas replied friendly and slowly walked around the table, cautiously approaching his father without looking at him.
"Yes, thank you, very well, indeed. Any sweet dreams you would share with us?" Gandalf went on, desperately trying to start a light-hearted conversation before anything bad could be said or done.
Legolas shook his head and stopped right beside his father. The king looked at him questioningly.
"Good morning, Ada." The elfling whispered shyly to him and held out his arms to embrace his father.
"Good morning, Legolas." Thranduil replied hoarsely. He had not expected that! He was so surprised he automatically hugged Legolas and patted his back reassuringly. As he realized what he was doing he all but jerked back, shooting his son a suddenly angry glare. No way would he forget about his son's misdeed yesterday only because Legolas was acting so sweetly.
"Sit down and drink your milk." He said as coolly as possible after such an open display of warm-heartedness and gently shoved Legolas towards the empty chair on his left side. The elfling needed all his strength to put on a brave face for all of a sudden his chest felt awfully heavy and breathing hurt as a well known sadness pressed down on him once again.
Why is Ada so angry with me? he wondered as he climbed on his chair. He bit his lower lip nervously and tried to concentrate on the mug of hot steaming milk before him.
Gandalf's look wandered from Thranduil to Legolas and from Legolas to Elrond, who met his gaze, then back to Thranduil. The air was so thick with tension one could cut it with a wooden spoon! He had to do something, so he closed his eyes, smiled and took a deep breath. He started sniffing around the various items on the breakfast table.
"Ah, the sweet smell of morning!" He whispered mysteriously, winked at Legolas and gently poked the boy in his belly.
The elfling giggled.
"You're so funny, Uncle Dir!" he announced, still chuckling.
"Oh! So you say?" Gandalf smiled warmly down on him, carefully watching Thranduil out of the corner of his eye.
Legolas nodded and smiled back. Thranduil could hardly suppress a groan of surrender and took some bread and dry meat, gesturing his guests to start breakfasting as well.
"You're like Labahû." Legolas informed Gandalf, shifting about in his chair, grinning from one pointed ear to the other.
How am I supposed to do this when he is so sweet and innocent and smiles like that? Thranduil thought to himself and absentmindedly started smoothing the napkin on his lap over and over again. This did not go unnoticed by Gandalf.
"Labahû?" The wizard asked and reached out for an apple. This is working fairly well so far! he thought.
"The dog that lives in the stables with Ada's horses! He's my friend," the elfling exclaimed, somewhat proudly. Gandalf and Elrond chuckled. Thranduil managed to suppress a smile and went on smoothing his napkin.
"Oh, I see, you think I look like a dog! Why, thank you! I wonder where my tail is!" Gandalf joked and looked around, mockingly searching for his tail. Legolas and Elrond laughed wholeheartedly. Thranduil only chuckled almost inaudibly.
"No, you don't look like a dog, Uncle Dir!" Legolas cried, amused, adding, "You're so funny!" Another fit of laughter took his breath away when Gandalf feigned a shocked, embarrassed look.
Thranduil watched but said nothing. He couldn't remember the last time he had had such a joyful conversation with his son. How does Mithrandir do that? he wondered.
"So, why am I like Labahû then?" Gandalf wanted to know, cutting his apple in quarters.
"You snuffle like him. He always snuffles! Really! He snuffles my face sometimes, and it tickles me. He is very funny, too. And he is sooo big." Legolas held his hand as high as his forehead and smiled, his eyes sparkling with joy.
"I like him. He and my pony are friends, too, you know. But I can't ride Labahû, he has only three legs." He made a pitying face. "Sel says you can't ride dogs anyway, but I do not believe him. If Labahû had four legs I could ride him. He is a very nice dog." Legolas rambled on happily, letting his legs dangling forth and back.
"I am certain he is. And you can be very proud to claim such a nice dog your friend. Maybe you can introduce me to him some time?" Gandalf suggested, grinning, and Legolas immediately hopped from his chair.
"Ada, can we go to the stables? I can show Uncle Dir Labahû!" he asked enthusiastically, his heart leaping with joy.
Thranduil was this close to surrender, but somehow he managed to put on a stern face and shake his head no.
"No, Legolas, and now sit down and drink your milk! You will not go to the stables today. I told you I would have a word with you after breakfast. Are you finished yet?" Thranduil admonished half-heartedly.
Mhm, then again, this might work not as well as I thought! Gandalf considered.
Legolas shook his head. His shoulders dropped as he did what his father told him. He sat down again, took his mug of milk in both hands and rotated it thoughtfully. He did not make any attempts to drink. He liked the warmth of the mug between his palms, but he was not thirsty or hungry anymore.
"Legolas, stop playing with your food! And breakfast!" Thranduil barked at him and shot his son another angry glare.
I'm certainly going to be the villain today, am I not? Thranduil thought.
"I'm not hungry." Legolas whispered, not meeting his father's gaze.
Thranduil sighed. They had been through this whole "I'm not hungry"-discussion some time ago already. He was about to continue scolding his son but Elrond leaned forward and hastily asked him if he had had a good night's rest.
"Apart from a pounding headache and some not so pleasant dreams, it was fair enough." The king replied honestly. He did not have the strength anymore to put on an act he was just perfectly fine.
Lord Elrond and Gandalf knew it surely was not only headaches and bad dreams which had cost the king some good night's rest. He certainly was not looking forward to the planned punishment for his son, either, both guessed.
"I hope the two of you had a peaceful night in my house?" Thranduil asked in return, looking from Elrond to Gandalf then back to Elrond as if to ask for their approval. Only Elrond nodded slightly. Gandalf shrugged and started filling the adults' mugs with tea.
Legolas sat there, musing.
"What did you dream of, Ada?" he asked cautiously after a while and finally started drinking his milk.
"Nothing you should worry about," Thranduil replied, more softly now. He looked up in surprise as he felt Elrond gently kicking him on the shin under the table. The Noldor elf threw him an unmistakable look and Thranduil understood.
"I- I dreamt of spiders," he told his son.
Legolas choked on his milk and coughed.
"Ai!" He exclaimed, still half choking, and looked at Thranduil wide-eyed. He sometimes dreamt of the big black spiders that lived in the forest, too. He hated them; they were so ugly. And somewhere he had heard that they ate elflings.
"Did they eat you?" he asked hastily, staring at his father.
"Well, not exactly…" Thranduil chuckled. He could not help it. "But they almost ate my horse!"
"Ai, Ada! Not Nari!" Legolas winced at the thought.
"Yes, it was terrible. But they did not eat him." Thranduil reassured him, sadly amazed by the fact that he had almost forgotten his horse's name – Narhalf or 'Nari' as Legolas nicknamed him – while his little son clearly had no problem to remember it. Was he really so oblivious of the beings surrounding him? Or was he simply too tired?
Legolas saw the sad look on his father's face. And of course he thought the dream must have frightened his Ada. He quickly jumped down from his chair once again, ran over to Thranduil and climbed on his lap.
Thranduil was so lost in thoughts about his horse's name that he did not really see Legolas move over. He started as he felt the little weight on his lap and two tiny arms hugging him tightly around the neck.
"It was only a bad dream, Ada," Legolas comforted seriously.
"I know, ion nin. I know. It was only a bad dream," Thranduil replied softly after a while, sadly taking in the sweet little face of his son as Legolas turned his head to look at him.
He could drown in these big blue depths looking up at him with so much awe and warmth and love. Oh, how much I love you, my little squirrel! If only you knew! he thought. Damn, why cannot I just tell you! And it hurt him so much it was almost unbearable! He felt so guilty somehow and so ashamed of himself. Ashamed of his inability to simply say what his heart wanted him to scream out loud. Nervously he fumbled with Legolas' thin golden braids.
"Now, what about some proper breakfast? You must eat something, ion nin. Look, there are strawberries. You like strawberries a lot, do not you?" He asked gently, casting his feelings aside once more. Legolas nodded. He loved strawberries. And my Ada knows it! he thought happily. He smiled, leaned forward and soundly kissed Thranduil on the lips, startling him yet again.
"I love you, Ada," he announced, turned around on his father's lap and picked up some strawberries.
Elrond and Gandalf stared at the king and… did they really see tears shining there in his eyes?
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They had finished breakfast silently and Thranduil excused himself to his study. He had asked Legolas to show Gandalf and Elrond to the library so he could have some time on his own before his son would come to meet him.
He sat behind his desk contemplating his next actions anxiously, nervously playing with the switch in his hand as he heard a soft knock at the door.
So, this is it then, he thought and sighed.
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Lord Elrond and Gandalf watched Legolas waving one last time as he stood in the doorframe. Then the elfling turned around and closed the door to the library behind him.
Elrond impatiently paced the room for a moment.
"Do you think Thranduil will do it?" he finally asked, as soon as he was sure that Legolas could not hear him anymore.
"No. I have seen it in his eyes. He will not beat his child." Gandalf replied calmly and sat down on an armchair at the window.
"Thank the Valar! I have seen it, too, I think. I am glad he has finally come to his senses! I never truly believed he would really do it anyway. Well, at least, I hoped so." Elrond said relieved, launching himself on a nearby couch. He looked at Gandalf, and a new wave of concern caught his stomach as he saw the wizard furrowing his brow and thoughtfully gazing at the pattern of the floor.
"What is it, Mithrandir?" the elf wanted to know.
"Well, I fear this will not be the end of the story." Gandalf said and looked up to meet his friend's eyes.
"What do you mean, mellon nin?" Elrond rose from his seat and walked over to where Gandalf sat. He crouched down in front of him and put a hand on the wizard's knee.
"I do not know for certain myself. But something is going to happen. And I cannot see if it will be good or bad. I only know, this time there is naught we can do about it."
"So, we just sit and wait?" Elrond asked skeptically.
"Well, I fear fate would have us do so." The Istar nodded and picked up a leather-bound volume from a table next to his chair.
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Thranduil took a deep breath.
"Come in," he ordered, and Legolas entered the room.
"Hello, Ada," the elfling said and… smiled!
Thranduil stared at his son for a while, his heart beating like mad in his chest. Ai, Elbereth, I cannot do this! What am I to do? I cannot really do this to him! He rose and slowly walked around his desk, the switch still in his hand.
"Legolas, do you know why I wanted a word with you?" He asked seriously, fumbling nervously with the switch.
"No, Ada." Legolas' smile faded away.
That's better. At least he should know this is serious and be prepared. Oh sweet Eru, must I really to do this?
"Where were you yesterday afternoon?" He asked as coldly as possible, leaning back against his desk, folding his arms across his chest.
"At the archery ground," Legolas answered, still not sure what this was all about.
"And did you wait for some warriors to take you there?"
"Yes, Ada," he nodded eagerly.
"And did you also wait for some warriors to take you back home?"
Silence.
Legolas mused for a moment. His sweet little face got paler with each second that passed.
"Legolas?" his father asked in a sharp tone.
"No," the elfling finally admitted with a small voice.
Thranduil glared down on him from above.
"But Ada…" the elfling started.
"Legolas, what have I told you about walking the woods on your own?" Thranduil demanded to know, glaring at his son.
Legolas took a deep breath. He really was in trouble now. His Ada was very angry.
"I am not allowed to walk the woods alone. It is too dangerous. It is a rule and I disgrace myself if I break this rule and…" Legolas swallowed hard.
"And?"
"And if I break this rule you… y-you have to punish me. And I will bring disgrace on you, too."
Well, at least he listened to me when I told him these things.
"Now then, tell me, what were you thinking when you ignored this rule, Legolas? Do you have anything to say that would justify such a misdeed? And do not try telling me that nothing has happened to you! That is not the question here and now!" the king hissed, feeling his heart ache as he saw tears coming to his son's eyes.
Please do not cry, please do not cry, my little squirrel! I cannot do this if you cry!
"Ada, I… I just wanted to tell you about the shot."
"Enlighten me, please, Legolas! Why would that be of such urgency that you could not wait for Sel or any other warrior to accompany you back home?" He bend down, his face only inches away from Legolas'.
"'Cause I wanted you to know, Ada! You never go shooting with me. And I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to be proud of me." Legolas tried to explain.
"Do you really think I can be proud of you if you do something so stupid such as running back through the woods unaccompanied? What in all Arda were you thinking, Legolas? Something could have happened to you! You know how dangerous the forest is. There are orcs and spiders and other evil creatures out there!" Thranduil shouted and started pacing the room. Why did he feel so guilty all of a sudden? He clenched his fist around the switch so tightly it almost broke.
"I know, but we never see spiders or orcs on the way to the archery ground." Legolas replied innocently.
Red spots danced before Thranduil's eyes. That was exactly what his wife had always told him and that he was being overprotective again, when he would not let her go riding or go for a walk without an escort.
He whirled around, tossed the switch aside and tightly grabbed Legolas by the upper arms with his large strong hands.
"Your nana did not see any spiders or orcs, either, before she was killed! And she was killed! They killed her! Do you want yourself to get killed, too? Do you want to be slain by an orc, too?! Do you?! Do you?!" he yelled at Legolas shaking him unintentionally.
"No!" the elfling cried back, both scared and angry, tears rolling down his face. "But you said you wanted me to help you. And I promised you. And you need warriors. Sel says you need warriors. And I can shoot a leaf, and Sel can show me how to shoot orcs and spiders, too, and then you can have me as your warrior! And I wanted to tell you that I can shoot a leaf and that I can be your warrior soon! And when I kill all the orcs and the spiders for you, then you do not have to be busy being king anymore and you can sleep and you have more time for me, too," he sobbed out.
Thranduil stared at the small child in disbelief and unconsciously tightened his grip around Legolas' arms as the real meaning of his son's words sank in onto him.
He could not say anything. He could not even breathe.
"Ada, you're hurting me. Ada, please, you're hurting me!" the elfling sobbed on, desperately trying to jerk free, fear written all over his small face.
Suddenly Thranduil felt the room spinning beneath his feet, and he sank down on his knees, almost tearing Legolas down with the weight he unconsciously leaned on him to steady himself.
"Ada!" Legolas shrieked in horror as he saw his father collapse.
Thranduil was vaguely aware that Legolas was still with him. And if there was one thing he did not want his son to see it was him breaking down like this. He let go off of his son's arms and muttered the first and probably only words that came to his mind.
Legolas whirled around and fled out of the room to fetch Uncle Rond or Uncle Dir or anyone to help his Ada.
And his little heart clenched painfully in his chest as he realized what his father had just said to him…
"Get out of my sight."