Title: Prince Legolas Thranduilion

Summary: Legolas. Prince. How the former learns what it means to be the latter.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: None of the characters or settings recognizable from Tolkien's books belong to me. However, the original characters are mine. ;-) I invented them freely, and if their names (which is quite unlikely, they are elvish, after all…) or occurrences in their lives concur with anything of yours, it is coincidence and not my intention.

Author's note: This is my first Lord of the Rings story, so please, be kind and don't flame. Constructive criticism and feedback is welcomed, and if you have any questions concerning this fic, please, ask and I will do my best to answer them. Also, if you detect any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me. English is not my first language, and even though I do my best, some mistakes always slip through. I don't have an English betareader, so I can only rely on my computer and on what I know. If you'd like to betaread this story, please tell me. I'd be happy to have someone to check what I write.

Chapter One

„Legolas!"

The young elfling froze. „Yes, adar?"

"What are you doing here?"

Slowly Legolas turned around, looked at his father's stern face and took in the grim expression and the usually quite full lips that now formed a thin line. There was no doubt, his father was mad at him.

"I am just…taking a walk…in the wood…between the trees…" He trailed off helplessly, crossing his arms in front of him and looking his father straight in the eyes with a courage that he didn't really have. Why was he even trying to lie to his father? The much older elf could see through his act as if he were an open book, where the truth was written on the page the book had opened on. And he would certainly be only angrier upon knowing that his son had tried to lie to him. And surely enough, the elfling could see his father's eyes becoming mere slits, the muscles on his jaw twitching. Oh yes, his father definitely saw through his lies. Now the young elfling lowered his gaze and stared at his father's chins.

Suddenly the elf turned around and started to walk back towards the palace. Without bothering to turn around he threw a "Come!" over his shoulder. After hesitating for but a moment, Legolas started after his father, having to jog next to the much taller elf in order to keep up with his long strides.

Aronas stayed crouched behind the bush until he couldn't hear the two departing elves anymore. Then he slowly stood up, plucking leaves from his clothes and from his long dark brown hair. He heaved a great sigh. So much for having fun with his best friend. Well, they had had fun – at least until the King had come to take his son back to the palace. They had known that Lord Thranduil didn't want his son to play with elflings from the wood. The Prince was not to socialize with those of lower standing, he was the Prince of Greenwood after all, he had a reputation to preserve.

But at the palace there weren't any elflings of Legolas' age, they were either older and didn't want to have anything to do with one as young as Legolas – be it the Prince or not – or they were even younger than Legolas, in which case the Prince was the one who didn't want to have anything to do with those younger than himself. Another problem with all the elves living in the palace was that they didn't see him as Legolas but as the Prince. When he was around them he could never be just an elfling. Instead he always had to hold himself straight, be quiet, wear fine clothing – not that any elfish clothes were not fine – all in all he had to behave like a grown up and not like the young elfling he was.

At least that was what Legolas had told his best friend, and Aronas doubted that Legolas had lied about this matter. Even though Legolas had a good life, not missing any luxuries, getting all the things he wanted to have, Aronas pitied his friend. He didn't have everything he wished he had, but he at least could play with whomever he wanted, could go wherever he wanted to go without having guards with him and could behave like he wanted. Well, that was not entirely true, there were some rules concerning his behaviour, but in many aspects he led a much freer life than the often admired and envied Prince.

So in order to escape his royal duties and restrictions the young prince had sneaked out of the palace and into the surrounding woods of Greenwood. There they had met on Legolas first excursion and many times thereafter. Sometimes they brought their exercise weapons and trained sword fighting, hand to hand combat and even archery. Since they were both new to all forms of fighting they didn't improve much but that was hardly the point. They just wanted to have fun. But they didn't only train with various weapons; they also played games like hunting each other or animals from the woods, even though they never killed them. Both loved horses and anything that had to do with them, but since Legolas had to sneak out of the palace, which often included climbing, he couldn't bring a horse with him.

They tried to meet every day, but Legolas didn't always manage to get enough free time each day for sneaking out. His father insisted that, as the Prince, he had to know what went on in the kingdom and Middle Earth, how the King ruled and all the other royal duties. Thus Legolas had to learn the Common Tongue that Men used, as well as the dwarves' tongue and many more. He had to study the history of Middle Earth and the forms and cultures of all the different people inhabiting Middle Earth as well as it's geography. When he would be older he'd also have to be instructed in the different forms of fighting, where he'd have to belong to the best because he was the Prince.

Shaking his head to get all the depressing thoughts about his friend out of his head, Aronas turned around and began walking home. He'd come back tomorrow, perhaps Legolas would find an opportunity to sneak out.

ooooo

Finally they had reached the palace, but for the young prince it had been a long walk or rather run. His father had stridden with long steps through the forest, making his son jog in order to keep up with him. The king hadn't given his son one glance, but the elfling saw the rigid tension in his father's shoulders and his stiff back. The king was definitely not in a good mood.

Legolas nearly walked into his father as the older elf suddenly stopped. Looking up, he realized that they had reached the door to his chamber, but his father still didn't acknowledge his presence. Slowly the king reached out and opened the door, then he turned around and finally looked at his son who shrank back at the anger he saw in his father's eyes. But the elfling refused to look down, youthful stubbornness still remaining.

"Dinner will be brought to your room." The voice of his father was chillingly cold. "I expect you to contemplate your recent actions and how you should behave yourself as the Prince instead of as an insolent child. Since you seem to have too much spare time at your hands with which you apparently don't know what to do we will increase your studies. Your energy won't be wasted this way." With this the king turned around with a swish of his dark green cloak and strode down the corridor, leaving his son standing in front of his room.

After staring at the disappearing form of his father Legolas silently went into his room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He leaned back against the door and slid down until he was sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the door and his knees pulled up to his chest. His arms were slung around his legs as his form started to shake with silent sobs. It would not do if anyone heard the Prince crying.

ooooo

Legolas awoke to the sounds of birds singing outside and the soft whooshing of the trees, and he wondered momentarily why he had woken so early, for the sun had not yet peaked over the distant horizon. Usually he slept longer and only awoke when it was time for breakfast, which didn't take place until an hour after dawn.

But then he realized that this was not a normal day. Even though it wasn't unusual for his father to be angry with him, it was indeed unusual for the king to be as angry as he had been the day before. Legolas' father knew that his son snuck out and played in the woods with other children, for the elfling had occasionally run into guards who patrolled the area around the palace and eventually, when the Prince's presence was desired by his father but the young elf could not be found anywhere on the palace grounds the king sent out guards to retrieve his son.

But never before had the king himself gone out to find his wayward offspring. And never before had the king been so angry about his son's disobeying of his orders, neither had there ever been a severe punishment like what Legolas now faced.

And from the prince's point of view it was a very severe punishment. He already had scarcely any free time in which he could do what he desired, and now this would also be taken from him. It seemed his days would only be consisting of learning: Studying, practicing horse back riding and learning the ways of the court and his royal duties. Well, horse back riding wasn't too bad and the young prince enjoyed everything that had to do with horses. But what he could not understand was what more he needed to learn in that area.

As an elf he loved all living things, as a child he loved animals and especially horses; therefore he had absorbed all that was to know about horses and had eagerly learned how to ride them, which was not overly hard for an elf. He knew how to direct them where he wanted them to go and how to get them to move in the pace he wanted. What more was there to learn? Why did he need to learn how to ride a horse with a saddle and bridle? They were only in the way and uncomfortable for both the rider and the horse. He and his horse had to move in ways that seemed unnatural and didn't serve any higher purpose than to look ridiculous. He always had to sit so straight that it looked as if he had swallowed a stick and his horse had to hold its head with its nose nearly touching its shoulder which couldn't be very comfortable.

This, Legolas thought, was not riding. With 'riding' he associated being one with one's horse, nearly merging into one being, flying through the woods or over fields of grass, feeling, moving and being natural. What he was learning was the exact opposite, and he didn't understand the purpose.

What purposes his other studies had he did understand, however. He was the Prince of Greenwood the Great, the Woodland Realm. Even though they belonged to an immortal race he would, one day, be King when his father either died or sailed west. And as a king he had to know the ways of court, how to rule a kingdom and all that was to know about the other races and kingdoms in Middle Earth.

But as a mere elfling who still had his entire life - which could be very long - before him, he didn't see why his studies should be so rushed. He had proverbially all the time in the world to learn all that he needed to know.

It was just his punishment, Legolas concluded. But he would die before he would let his father see how hard of a punishment it was. The King wanted to have a Prince that lived by the rules, who was only a Prince and nothing else? Fine! He would get what he wanted.

ooooo

tbc…