"Calaen used Dolruín on Legolas' wound?" Elrohir shook his head angrily, stormy eyes blazing.

"You should be thankful that you did not have to see it," Estel said sadly. "You remember what it was like when he was having his bandage changed? It was worse even than it was then. And Legolas…I have not shed tears for a good few years. I did when he told me."

"What happened then?" Elrohir sighed.

"I told him I would help him, but he refused me," Estel replied. "He has convinced himself that he is a murderer."

Over by the window, Elladan drew in a deep breath. "I knew that something was wrong with Calaen even before this happened. But now I know that he was cold inside. He had no heart."

"Everyone has a heart," Elrohir said sadly. "There are just some people, like Calaen, who forget that. They forget how to love."

"He felt remorse for what he had done," Estel said. "Or so Ada told me."

"That is no excuse for anything," Elladan hissed.

"I never said it was!" the mortal flared.

Elrohir held up a hand as his twin made to retort. "Quiet, both of you. Things are bad enough already without you two acting like children."

"Where is Legolas now?" Elladan asked, ignoring the comment.

"He locked himself in his room," Estel replied. "This is getting to be too much for him. You are lucky that you were spared from seeing the pain in his eyes, and hearing the heartache in his voice. And I fear that Thranduil is not faring well. I passed him in the corridor on the way here. He tried to hide them, but I saw the tears in his eyes."

Elrohir nodded sadly. "I am not surprised. He has lost two of his children."

"Will they get through this?" Estel asked softly.

Elladan shook his head, and spread his hands helplessly. "No-one can answer that question at such an early stage. But Calaen really has struck deep within Legolas' soul. All we can do is pray for him."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What am I going to do?" Thranduil asked, helpless for one of the first times in his life. "Calaen has destroyed everything. He took Airëlus' life and he has as good as taken Legolas'. I would kill him without hesitation, if I could."

"But whatever he did, he was still your son. Nothing can change that," Elrond said quietly.

In one swift movement, the Elven-king had jumped to his feet, kicked over a chair and slammed his fist into the wall. "It is because of him that Legolas has locked himself away, convinced that he is a murderer! My eldest son lies dead because of him! How would you feel if Elrohir had done something like this?"

"He would never even think of it," Elrond said coldly.

"Elladan, then."

The Elven-lord narrowed his eyes to mere slits. "Neither Elladan nor Elrohir would ever do something like this. I know my sons, Thranduil."

"And I thought I knew mine." The Sinda Elf turned away, and stared unseeingly at the opposite wall.

"Forgive me," Elrond sighed. "I should not have spoken so."

Thranduil shook his head dismissively, and went across to the desk. He pulled out one of the drawers, and proceeded to push various maps and letters out of the way, until he finally found what he was looking for. Smiling sadly, he handed one piece of parchment to Elrond, the other to Gandalf.

"This is admirable artwork," the Wizard said. "Was it done by your hand?"

"No. Airëlus is the…was the one blessed with artistic talents," Thranduil replied softly. "The picture that you hold, Mithrandir, was done by memory."

Gandalf smiled, and looked down once more at the drawing. It was of Calaen and Legolas, both a lot younger, obviously years before shadow had fallen upon the former's heart. The dark haired Prince was holding the Elfling high up in the air, laughing and smiling as he spun him around.

"Airëlus always drew portraits of his brothers," Thranduil explained. "He liked to capture special moments."

"What of this one?" Elrond asked, nodding down at the piece of parchment he held.

The Elven-king's eyes flashed, and he shook his head. "That one…it was done only a few years back. The four of us were in the family room. I noticed that there was tension in the air between Legolas and Calaen, but I assumed that it was just another one of their arguments. I know differently now."

Begin Flashback

"I can do it. Just you watch," Airëlus said. He turned his arrow upside down, and attempted to balance it on his finger.

"You are fighting a losing battle," Thranduil pointed out.

The Crown Prince looked up, and shook his head sadly. "You have so little faith in me. Now, I am not leaving this room until I have balanced this arrow on my finger. It will not take long. Just wait a while longer."

"We have been waiting for five hours already," Legolas complained, looking up from the book that he was reading on the floor next to his father's chair.

"Stop exaggerating, Elfling," Airëlus said. "It has not been five hours."

"Near enough," Thranduil muttered.

"You cannot do it," Legolas said. "Just admit it. Give up."

Airëlus sighed, and dropped his arrow to the floor. "Fine, I give up. It is nice to know that my family have such faith in me. Why don't one of you two have a go? I think you will find that it is actually quite a lot harder than it looks."

Legolas went to where the arrow lay next to the door, and knelt down to pick it up. No sooner had he dropped to the ground though, the door flew open. He jumped back just in time to avoid being hit by it, but it was close. When he looked up, it was emerald green eyes that he met. He winced and went back over to the side of his father's chair, ignoring the arrow that remained on the floor.

Calaen though, reached down and picked it up. "Airëlus, is this yours?"

"Not mine. Give it to Legolas," the Crown Prince replied, picking up the leather bound book which he used to draw in.

"Here you are then," Calaen said, holding the arrow out to his younger brother.

Legolas reached out and took it, inclining his head slightly as a way of thanks. His blue eyes met green ones, and the gaze was held for a brief moment, before the dark haired Elf turned sharply and threw himself into a chair. The younger Prince lay the arrow down on the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging them close.

Airëlus' eyes flickered slightly as he began to draw. He had not missed the cold look on Calaen's face, the fearful one on Legolas'.

End Flashback

"Like me, Airëlus assumed that they had been arguing in the day, and that was just the aftermath of it." Thranduil sighed deeply and shook his head. He was silent for a moment, but then he slammed a hand against the desk. "How long did Legolas live in terror for? How did I fail to realise that my own son was being abused? What type of father am I? I failed to protect him when Calaen was here, and even now I cannot help him. I promised that I would be here for him, and I want to keep that promise, but how can I? Whenever-

"Thranduil Oropherion!" Gandalf shouted, his blue eyes flashing. "You will either keep the promise that you made Legolas, or face my wrath! The child will not heal without your help. How do you expect him to recover on his own?"

The Elven-king bit down on his lip. "I want to help Legolas more than anything. But…what do I do now? How do I do it?"

"You go now and you talk to him," Gandalf replied, taking the Elf by the arm and leading him towards the door. "I do not wish to see you again until you have spoken to your son. Go!"

Elrond smiled sadly as Thranduil nodded and left the room swiftly. "I fear that you are too hard on him, Gandalf. He is not at fault. He just does not know what to say to Legolas."

"I know perfectly well that he is not at fault," the Wizard replied, lighting his pipe again. "And as for speaking with Legolas…he must speak from his heart."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Legolas lay curled up on his bed, hugging a pillow tightly to his chest. He had shed no more tears, for he had come to the conclusion that nothing was going to change, no matter how much he wanted it to. And tears would not help matters at all. They did not even make him feel better, so what point was there to them anyway?

The Prince tensed suddenly, as there was a knocking on the door. He opened his mouth to tell whoever it was to leave him in peace, but then he swiftly closed it again. Maybe if they thought that he was asleep they would leave anyway. And if not…well, the door was locked, so unless they had a key, they would have problems trying to get into the room.

"Legolas, let me in."

"No," the Elf whispered, though he knew his words would not be heard. "Not now, Ada."

"Please," Thranduil pressed from outside. "Do not shut me out. I only wish to speak with you. Please, unlock the door."

The Prince closed his eyes briefly, and shook his head. "I wish to be alone. Is that so much to ask?"

"I am not leaving until you let me in!" Thranduil snapped.

"Then stay out there, then!" Legolas hissed back. He flinched as a fist was thrown against the door. "Ada, that will not get you anywhere!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"If you don't let me in, then I will break the door down!" Thranduil leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. "Please, what is it that you are afraid of? Do you believe that I think any less of you because of what happened? That is not so, Legolas. Now, you know full well that I will break this door down, so…" He fell silent as a key turned in the lock.

Legolas pulled open the door and glared at his father for a moment, before spinning on his heel and going back to lie on the bed. "There, I have let you in. You can speak for as long as you wish, but do not expect much of a response."

"Fine. You do not need to say anything, I just want you to listen to me," Thranduil said. "Legolas, I will not lie to you. What Calaen has done is…awful. It should never have happened, but it did. There is no way that anyone can change that. No matter how much you pray, time will not be reversed. But that should not matter. It should not hold you back from life. You are a beautiful, amazing, wonderful child. I could ask for no better."

"I am not a child," Legolas muttered.

"You are. And even when you are an adult, you will still be my child," Thranduil said gently. "I know the pain and heartache that you are going through right now. It will pass with time. And it will pass so much more quickly if you let me help you."

"You said that…that I should not be held back from my life by what has happened to me," Legolas said slowly, pushing himself into a sitting position and looking across at his father. "But I cannot see how my life will not change. You know what Dolruín does, Ada. You know that it can never be gotten rid of. I will have to live with this for the rest of my life."

"But not alone," Thranduil said softly.

Legolas sighed, and shook his head. "But why do you want to help me? I am a murderer, and Calaen did this so that everyone would find out. What do you think people will say when they realise that I have killed?"

"I have also killed," Thranduil said. "In battle I have killed many. Does that make me a murderer?"

"No, but that is different," Legolas replied. "You killed for your country, your people. I killed for one life: my life. I took his so that mine would be spared."

"That may be so, but it was not an act of selfishness," the Elven-king said. "What do you want for yourself? Do you want to remain unhappy for the rest of your life, locked away behind iron bars that you have built? Or do you want to try and right all of the wrongs in your life?"

"I want to wake up in a minute and find that none of this has happened, and I have just been dreaming," Legolas said softly. "I don't want my body marked by this….this word. I just want everything to be different."

"It can be if you accept my help," Thranduil said. He took a chance, and sat on the bed in front of his son. "Back when you were an Elfling, you came to my rooms one night, because you did not like the thunder. But then you told me that you were no longer afraid, because I could chase away all of the bad things. That is exactly what you said, and never will I forget those words. Let me do that for you now."

"But this is very different to thunder," Legolas said.

Thranduil sighed, and touched a hand to the Prince's shoulder. "When I heard you say those words all those years ago, I doubted them. I did not think that I would always be here to fight away your fears, no matter how much I wanted to. Life is not that simple. But I will always try to. I will always be here for you. Let me help you."

Legolas inhaled, and bit down on his lip. "Yes. Yes, I will let you."

"And I will not let you down," Thranduil replied. "I promise."

"Thank you," the Prince said quietly.

The Elven-king drew his son close, and let out a deep breath of relief that he did not know he had held. "You will get through this. And you will not be alone."

………………………………………………………………………………………………