Chapter Three: The touch of the Lady
Thranduil slowed his horse to a walk and frantically checked Legolas for a pulse. Relieved to find one, albeit slow, he glanced over at Celronen. "We must hurry, Cel, he is in need of the Lady."
Nodding in understanding, Celronen urged the warriors on, pushing the horses into a swift gallop. The King leaned as much forward as he could with Legolas perched in front of him and whispered to his mount, "Noro lim!"
Hearing the desperation in the Elf's voice, the horse surged forward with renewed strength, passing beneath the great trees of the Golden Wood toward the heart of the realm of Lothlorien.
Soon, they would encounter the Galadrim border guards and the King hoped they would not stall him long. Legolas' breathing was shallow and labored and his weak heartbeat worried the Elvenking to no end.
"Daro! {Stop!}" Came a loud cry from ahead and a tall, blonde Elf leapt from a tree to the ground in front of Thranduil. Reining his horse in, the King held tightly to his son.
Seeing the bleeding, unconscious Prince, the blonde archer gasped. "My Lord, King Thranduil!? What evil has befallen the warriors of Mirkwood?"
"Mae govannen, Haldir, Marchwarden of Lorien, my son, Prince Legolas, is gravely injured and in desperate need of the Lady's aide. Please take us to her!" His voice held barely restrained panic and Haldir wasted no time.
"Rumil, see to it that the other warriors are taken care of, we will ride ahead of you to seek the Lord and Lady," he gestured for Thranduil to dismount and whistled to his left. Two beautiful horses emerged from the woods and Haldir now addressed Thranduil. "Take a new steed, My Lord. I will guide you with all haste to the Lady."
Taking Legolas from the King, Haldir waited until Thranduil was mounted then handed the Elf Prince back up to his father. Vaulting onto his own mount, Haldir urged her into an all out gallop, followed closely by Thranduil.
They raced wordlessly through the wood until Haldir remarked, smiling. "The Lady informs me she is aware of your imminent arrival, my Lord."
Thranduil, knowing the power of the Lady, nodded in relief. "I will be glad to see the Lady, Haldir. I fear for Legolas."
Haldir, not slowing in the least, turned his head to glance at the Prince's listless body. He was pale, far more then was normal for an Elf, and his wounds had begun to bleed through the bandages.
"Prince Legolas is strong, my Lord. He will survive this." Haldir said, no doubt evident in his voice.
He received no answer as they hurried to the large tree that marked the dwelling of the Lord and Lady of Lorien. At the foot of the winding staircase was a she-Elf beyond the beauty of most.
Her flowing silver/gold hair reached just past her waist, the wavy tresses swaying in the light breeze. Her pale skin set off her startling blue eyes and she moved with a grace that belied her many years.
"Lady Galadriel, King Thranduil and Prince Legolas are in need of your assistance!" Haldir called, taking Legolas from the King and bringing him to the lady who was fast approaching.
"Lay him down, Haldir." She commanded, looking for a moment toward the Elf's father. His eyes were red-rimmed and he himself was not without injury. "See to the King's injuries, but keep him here. Legolas will need him when he wakes."
Thranduil nodded his thanks to the Lady, knowing not to argue. He watched, barely noticing Haldir's ministrations, as the Lady began to examine the two wounds that marred his son's body.
She began to speak in Quenya, the High-Tongue, calling for the young Prince to leave the darkness and return to them. He was far gone, wandering perilously close to the Halls of Mandos, and she frowned.
Dropping instantly into a trance, Galadriel worked to bring him back. She knew that now was not his time and was confident she could revive him.
In a few minutes, after the rest of the warriors of Mirkwood and the Lorien border guards had arrived, Legolas stirred. His groan of pain brought Thranduil swiftly to his side. "Legolas, can you hear me, ion nin?"
To his immense relief, Legolas opened his eyes and starred up at his father in confusion. He blinked, trying to focus on the faces above him, when his eyes came to rest on Galadriel.
"Milady!" he exclaimed, instantly regretting the action when he was overcome with a coughing fit.
Smiling lightly, Galadriel responded, touching his brow. "Welcome to Lothlorien, Prince Legolas, Thranduilion. You are safe now."
There were audible sighs of relief from the warriors assembled and Celronen moved forward smiling. "Looks like our Warrior Prince will be staying in the land of the living after all!"
Legolas rolled his eyes and Thranduil cocked his head to the side. "Warrior Prince?"
Everyone laughed as Legolas snorted. "Not my idea, Adar!" Then, he allowed himself to be lifted and taken to a bed to rest.
Thranduil trailed beyond Haldir, who was again carrying Legolas because the Elvenking was unbelievably weary from his wounds. Seeing that the Prince was comfortable, Haldir left the father and son alone.
"Legolas," Thranduil began, unsure if now was the time to speak, but he was itching to get the words out. Waiting until Legolas was facing him, he continued. "I have yet to thank you for saving my life, ion nin." His voice cracked. "I only wish I could have saved you this pain. I am so very sorry, Legolas."
He would have continued, pouring out blame on himself for his son's predicament, but Legolas' hand grasping his own stopped him. "You have no reason to apologize, Adar. As you said, it is the way of the warrior. I only did what any other would and this misfortune could have happening to you as easily as it did to me."
The Prince would have liked to continue the conversation, assure his father that he was well, but the fact of the matter was, he was bone tired. His eyelids felt like steel and he was struggling to stay awake.
Seeing the turmoil in the blue-grey eyes, Thranduil smiled and brushed the golden hair from his son's face. "Rest, Legolas, my young Greenleaf. There will be plenty of time for talk later."
Legolas started to frown, but it quickly turned into a yawn. "Adar, I'm not so young anymore, you can stop calling me that!"
Thranduil laughed. "Compared to me, ion nin, you ARE young, therefore I shall always call you my young Greenleaf!"
"Yes, Ada!"
"You haven't called me Ada in so long, Legolas!" His father chuckled.
In complete seriousness, but with mirth in his eyes, Legolas answered him. "Well, since you insist on calling me young, I insist on acting young! Therefore, I will call you Ada until you stop calling me young."
Thranduil smirked. "Well then, I'll leave it up to you to explain to your fellow warriors why you refer to me as Daddy still."
Legolas rolled his eyes and groaned. "I'm going to sleep!"
And sleep he did. The King, Prince and their Mirkwood entourage remained in the Golden Wood until Legolas was fully healed. No scar remained to mar his body, as was the way with the Elves. Soon, all he had as reminders of that terrible battle were the memories.
And they would come back to haunt him some day, far in the future, when he traveled with a friend who had yet to be born.
A/N: OK...now be ready to meet a young Estel!! Please r/r! It makes me post much quicker!! (And makes the chapters longer cuse I get excited!)