A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and the support especially during this time of horrible writer's block! Thank you silent senshi for your long reviews and support! I got some creative juices flowing. Also thanks to the person who said that this story was "trash" after reading ALL NINE CHAPTERS of the story, one would think that if the story was that bad, they wouldn't read the rest of it, but, haha oh well!!!
I put some Thranduil in here to mix things up a bit.
Oh, this chapter mixes a lot of things up… enjoy!
At dinner, Legolas sat with Elladan while Elrohir took place his place next to Haldir that night. It seemed to last hours. Throughout the entire meal, Elrohir shot the young prince many glances: of hate, of amusement, of seduction, of suspicion.
Haldir joked throughout the whole meal with the members of his guard but his laughs were nervous, his actions reserved. The young dark elf to his side had a constant grip on his leg throughout the entire meal: it served as a thoughtful and ever-present reminder of Legolas' place. I get the hint, Legolas mused. That doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you. He didn't dare return any of his off-color glances because he wasn't stupid enough to possibly let someone else see such exchanges. As long as he didn't react to them, it would be unsure as to whom exactly he was making the glances to.
Elladan knew though. He wasn't directly in Elrohir's line of sight but he knew what was going on. Elrohir had always been very possessive of all his "friends" and today was no different. Until Legolas arrived, there weren't any other elves that could rival their beauty in Imaldris. But it wasn't even a question of beauty that caused Elrohir to so easily jump on the offensive when it came to such matters; it was rather a question of his "friends'" beauty: if anyone dared eye any of them, they should learn to run fast.
Out of the corner of his eye, Elladan watched Legolas occasionally stare at Haldir's table. Poor young elf, Elrohir's toying with him just like all the others. At least the poor elf doesn't seem affected by all his rubbish. He thought to soon and suddenly Legolas turned completely from the table and squeezed his eyes shut, blocking tears. Elladan slyly turned around to face his brother, once he held his gaze he lay a hand on the prince's shoulder and sneered. The younger twin got up from the table and walked out of the room.
Haldir suddenly looked relieved and laughed heartily at another elf's joke.
Elladan tapped the prince on the shoulder, he was startled, "Continue eating."
Legolas unclenched his teeth and took a quick glance at Haldir's table, sighing when he saw the dangerous inhabitant had fled. He slowly picked up his utensils as if they had suddenly become foreign and attempted to cut his meat. He cynically laughed and put them down, settling for the glass of wine. The light showed darkly on him despite his fair features. He slowly turned his glance to Elladan and noticed he had been watching him.
"Guard your intentions, prince," the dark twin uttered softly before taking a sip of his own wine, not failing to break his gaze.
Legolas broke the glance and looked at his half-eaten meal in defeat, "I'm done, are you?" Elladan nodded and they rose to leave.
"Legolas! Do not forget, 3AM!" Haldir called after him, slightly drunk. The blonde nodded regally and turned to leave.
They walked out of the dining hall and as soon as they were out of sight, Elladan stopped and turned to the prince with a sudden almost giddy expression, "Come, let me show you my garden. I haven't been to it for ages."
Considering the quite serious and oppressive atmosphere that seemed to smother him, he was surprised at his offer, "Alright."
The dark elf's steps became quicker and lighter so much so that Legolas began to lag behind. Elladan noticed this immediately and grabbed his hand, "Don't lag. You have a 3AM appointment; you may not have time to fully appreciate it." The blond couldn't help but giggle at the comment, his usually so serious friend suddenly seemed so different. He tightened his grip on the prince and smiled lovingly at him, "You're laughing… thank the Valar."
In a short time they reached a large arched doorway carved with beautiful images of flowers. In the night, the flowers all shimmered silver in the moonlight. Many small little buds seemed to twinkle as they were gradually covered with the cold misty dew. Elladan breathed in fully and took off his outer robe. He wore a shimmering dark green tunic and black pants; he went from the proper and wise son of a prominent Elven lord to a care-free young elf in the blink of an eye. Legolas could hardly believe the transformation. The twin's eyes suddenly danced with light like the very foliage in his garden and his features seemed lighter and much less serious.
The garden was not large at all and maybe rivaled the size of his room but it seemed like it was planned by the adage, "Quality versus quantity."
"Please, sit, relax. You need to," Elladan lied down on the ground and looked at the stars. "The stars are beautiful tonight. See how they make the flowers shine?"
Legolas cautiously sat next to his friend and stared at the ground. The blades of glass felt slick but not wet, beautiful but strange.
"I know you are a Silvan elf, but you don't act like one," Elladan mused.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, slightly insulted.
"See how you play with the grass when your people's stars shine so brightly above you? How can you even look at the ground?"
"Let the Valar bless this day! The day you have finally come of age, Legolas!" Thranduil smiled so proudly when he lifted his glass and the entire party followed suit. All the most important figures of Mirkwood were there. The advisors, his mentors, followed suit with their proud glances as well. His teachers all watched on, proud of the best student the country had to offer. The young maidens might have been the happiest though, since now young Legolas was at the correct and proper courting age. Everyone let their glasses kiss to the toast and laughed with joy.
Legolas couldn't have been happier.
After the feast, he and his father strolled through the royal garden. It was one of the only places in Mirkwood that still held the beauty that was once Greenwood. The flowers were taller than any building man or elf could possibly construct. The colors were so rich and bountiful that man had no name for them. The colors of the rainbow were nothing compared to the splendor of this garden.
A beautiful bird landed on Legolas' shoulder and he greeted it happily as it sang a soft and joyous song to him. He sang a few happy notes back and it seemed to smile.
"Legolas, I want you to always remember this garden. This is what Mirkwood used to be. It was so beautiful. As my son, I want you to always fight for this. Never stop working until you see this beauty that is around you now everywhere you go in this country. It can be replenished, the wood is magical and will do so only if it has the chance to. You can give it its chance. Listen; hear how she calls to you? Never forget this forest's song. Of course, these trees right here are joyous, but they know what has befallen their friends in the country that lies outside this only sanctuary. They are thankful I was able to give them this life so that they may reproduce as they wish, but they still fear," Thranduil cradled his son's chin in his hand and sadly smiled at him. He had been listening to every word intently, making note of every syllable. "We still fear."
At that, young Legolas' optimism grew incredibly, "Ada, can I create a guard to help Mirkwood? It would be filled with the best warriors. Most of my friends are the top in the class as I am, I'm sure they would be happy to oblige. As soon as they turn of age, like I have, they can join. We are young, we have so much energy, we will be able to protect Mirkwood and let the forest restore itself! The trees will sing our praises day and night!"
Thranduil smiled with pride once again and embraced his ambitious son, "Of course. I would be happy to give that to you as your gift to celebrate this momentous day."
Legolas rejoiced and couldn't help but bounce in the air and hug his father, continuously muttering words of thanks and praise to him.
All the elves, old and especially young, dreamed of belonging to such a glamorous guard. Their fighting was unparalled and their youth proved to be their best advantage against the continuous onslaught of spiders, orcs, and other spirits of evil. They were practically celebrities not only in Mirkwood but many other of the surrounding areas had heard of their great achievements. But everyone revered the most dashingly daring and handsome leader of the famed guard, Legolas Greenleaf Thranduillion, crowned prince of Mirkwood.
He continued to stare at the ground, suddenly to ashamed to even dare look at the beautiful trees. They had heard his thoughts; they shook their branches at him with disapproval. They lauded his past efforts but shivered at what he had become. Figures, if my father and those advisors aren't here to tell me all that I am is wrong, I can count on the trees to. The trees agreed with that.
Elladan's previous question still remained without an answer and he watched the prince stare at the dirt. He reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze, "Look at me." The blonde wearily agreed and his still eyes fixed on his grays. "I may not be a Silvan elf but I have studied them during my youth. When the trees speak to you, they only speak of two things: the past and the present. They don't know the future. Don't listen to their abuses of you."
Legolas crinkled his brow in confusion and whispered, "How can you hear them?"
"One doesn't need to listen to a tree or even to someone speaking the truth to see what they see on your face," Legolas looked deep into the twin's eyes. The twin began to study his features with even more intricacy as before. The flawless skin, the graceful nose, the delicate lips, the glistening hair, and, of course, those deep light blue eyes that seemed to mesmerize him with every glimpse. He couldn't recall how long he held his gaze but suddenly he realized that he shouldn't be holding the prince's gaze for that long, especially after what he had confessed to him earlier. He didn't want the prince to think that he was just another lecherous elf who wanted him only for pleasure.
Elladan broke his gaze with him and tried to occupy himself by looking at the stars. The blonde's eyes were still on him for a short time before they returned to the dirt. They stayed that way for many hours until Legolas rose.
"I must be off, my friend, in an hour, I have an appointment with Haldir and I have to ready myself," Elladan looked to him and thought that he caught a look of regret in his eyes. He sighed as he straightened his robes out and turned to the threshold.
"Don't leave," Elladan gasped, he couldn't believe he let those words escape his lips.
He prayed the elf didn't hear them but that was a lost hope. Legolas froze and slowly turned around…
Don't forget to review!!! Please! Reviews inspire where the story goes next!!! Sorry for the cliffhanger, what should happen next? Guess! Come on!