Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien nor his work and I never ever will. I do though, own the books I bought from him and the stories I write.
Rating: PG
warning: pointless fluff
A Cake For Two
"Ada!" a little elfling called from across the hall. "Come see what I made!"
Thranduil turned around and smiled when he saw his young son standing by the entrance to the gardens. He had mud here and there on his clothing and a dark smudge of it right under his left eye. His nanny was behind him, clearly distressed that her charge was entering the hall in such a state.
Thranduil was heading to his study to get ahead of petitions but then when he thought about it; he had not spent time with his son at all for a very long while. He only saw Legolas at meals and when he kissed the already sleeping child at night. No, he could do petitions another day, he would spend the afternoon with his son.
He walked over towards Legolas and said to his caretaker, "You may leave now, Ailinel, I will be spending the rest of the day with him."
Ailinel nodded and bent down to kiss Legolas on the head before grabbing her cloak and heading home.
"Come on, Ada!" Legolas whined as he tugged on Thranduil's robes.
"Have patience, my child." Thranduil admonished as he peeled off his robes and handed them to a guard nearby with instructions to leave them in his room. Once free from the extra garments, he picked his son up, wiping the mud off Legolas' face, and headed into the garden. Listening intently on his son's endless babbling all the while.
"...And then I found some leaves and I put it on and Ada! It looks yummy now!"
"Does it now? Yummy enough to eat?" the king questioned.
Legolas nodded his head vigorously. He looked around as if he had a secret to tell before he bent forward to whisper into his father's ear. " That's my surprise, Ada. I made a cake for you and me! It will be very good, too. But not as good as what we have at meal. But still good."
Thranduil laughed. The hot breath left his ear as his son maneuvered himself to lying his head on his father's shoulder.
It was very cool in the garden, though it did not effect them. It was early winter and the skies were a cloudless soft blue. The ground was cool and moist and it gave everything a shimmering glow. How long had Thranduil stepped out here? A very long time. Ever since is wife passed into the west; it pained him to step foot inside the garden. It was his wife's garden, she had nurtured every tree and flower lovingly with much tenderness.
When Legolas was old enough to walk he liked to come here with Ailinel. He was a true wood elf. Giving the whole matter some thought he wasn't all surprised to realize that Legolas spent most of his time here in the garden then he did in the caves. Which was understandable.
He was surprised that it did not pain him to be here again. In many ways it was calming and peaceful, and his wife's presence was felt strongly here. He looked down at the golden head on his shoulder and he couldn't help but smile. He loved his son dearly and he would do anything and everything to keep him safe.
"Legolas, where did you make the cake?"
His son's head popped up and searched the small garden before pointing a small finger, "There! By the tree Ada, can you not see it?"
Thranduil looked and sure enough two crude looking mud pies lay by the big tree. "Of course, ion nin, how silly of me to not see it."
Bright blue eyes looked up and into his eyes as his son giggled. "It's because you're old, Ada."
Thranduil raised an eyebrow at his son. "Then you are an elfling." Thranduil teased.
"I'm a big elf." Legolas huffed.
Thranduil nodded and kissed his son on the forehead. "Of course you are."
They were at the big tree now and Legolas squirmed until his father set him down on the ground. The young elf sat down on his knees; careless that he was staining his leggings. He looked up and said, "Ada you can't eat standing up." Thranduil nodded and sat down.
"Easy, Legolas. I am an old elf." Legolas giggled. Before Legolas could eat the 'cake', Thranduil asked.
"Shouldn't we bake it first, ion nin?" When his son looked up at him he continued in a gentle voice. "You know that cakes are only good if they are warm, and they only way to do that is to bake them." He watched, amused, as he son pondered this bit of information before nodding.
"You are right Ada, that is the only way to have cake. But Ada, how will we move the cakes to the kitchen?" Legolas asked tearfully. Yes how did you move mud cakes from the garden to the kitchens?
Thranduil looked around before grabbing a few of the leaves that were on the ground and gently moving the cakes into them. He got up, one cake in each hand and bid his son to get up as well for they were heading to the kitchen.
His son skipped ahead of him, earning amused glances from the guards and the servants. The King walked into the kitchen to find his son already talking with the chief cook. Legolas spotted his father and pointed, "Look, those are the cakes that need to be baked so we can eat them!" The cook nodded. Thranduil placed the mud creations on the table before speaking to his son, "The cakes will take some time to bake, my child, why don't you have a bath first then we can come see if they are ready."
Legolas sullenly nodded. "I will be right along I just need to speak to the cook." He said to his son before turning to an assistant cook, "Can you escort him to his room?"
The assistant nodded and replied, "Of course, My Lord."
"Thank you." He watched the assistant cook and his son leave the room, he could hear his son rambling on about childish things to the woman.
He shook his head and smiled before turning to the cook. "Will you make two dark cakes roughly this size?" The cook nodded and went to get the supplies before coming back.
Thranduil reached for the mud cakes and threw them out, his son would never know the difference. The cook hid a smile and shook his head. "Your son has a lively imagination, My Lord."
Thranduil smiled. "He does, doesn't he? We will be back later for the cakes. Thank you." The cook waved him off saying that he had a son to entertain.
His son did have a wild imagination. He fondly remembered two summers past.
It was a thunderstorm and the thunder echoed off the stone walls. A little frightened voice called, "Ada?" Thranduil sat up in bed and looked towards the source of the sound. His son stood with the blanket wrapped tightly over his head. The poor child looked absolutely frightened. Another booming sound echoed through the caves causing his son to jump and pull the blanket tightly to him.
Thranduil held out his arms and Legolas practically threw himself into them. " Why is the cave so angry, Ada?" Legolas said into Thranduil's chest. "Is it because I didn't eat my carrots today at evening meal? I promise I will eat my carrots again but please make it stop!" Another thunderous boom rumbled the earth and Legolas burrowed even closer into the safety of his father's arms.
Thranduil hid a smile and rubbed the small back in soothing circles. "There, there, Legolas. There is nothing to fear. It is not the cave."
The elfling looked up. "It's not?" He shouldn't of said that. Legolas looked even more frightened now.
"It is the sky. You know when it rains, right my child?" Legolas nodded.
"I like it when it rains."
"Yes, but sometimes when it rains there are also lightning, which we can not see in the cave and thunder. The thunder is what frightens you, does it not?"
"Thunder?" Legolas asked confused.
Thranduil nodded and kissed the top of the golden head. "Yes, thunder. It really is not bad at all. But since we are in a cave it vibrates much more and makes it much more frightening then it really is."
Legolas nodded and laid his head on his father's chest.
"When I was your age, Legolas, I was afraid of thunder too. But then my Ada kept me safe and I am not afraid anymore."
Legolas looked up astonished. His ada was once afraid of thunder, too? But he was so big now. "Will you keep me safe, Ada? Away from the angry sky?"
"Always."
There was a moment of silence as another rumbling occurred. He felt his small son tense. "Do you know what my Ada told me?"
"What?" Legolas asked, relaxing.
"My Ada told me that up in the sky the cloud people are playing. When it rains they are watering the earth. When there is lightning they are being naughty and playing with the torches. And when there is thunder they are jumping up and down. They are just having fun, and they will quiet down by morning."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Legolas nodded. "Ada? Can I stay here for the night?"
Thranduil opened the door to his sons room and found Legolas showing the cook all his toys. He sighed; no matter how many times Ailinel cleaned up the room, in an hour it was a mess again.
Legolas looked up and grinned. "Hello, Ada!"
"Hello my child." He said. He nodded to the cook as she bowed and left the room. He listened to his son talk about the toys he found in his toy box as he undressed him for the bath.
Once the toys were neatly placed away and both father and son were clean they headed to the kitchen.
"Just in time!" The chief cook said merrily as he looked over his soldier. "A cake for the King and the Prince."
Legolas started to bring the cake to his mouth before remembering his manners and saying, "Thank you!"
Thranduil watched his son attack his cake. No, Legolas had not noticed that this cake was missing the wet smell and the leaves. He turned to the cook and thanked him.
Legolas yawned and blinked. He scrunched up his nose as Thranduil wiped the mess from his face.
Thranduil gathered his small son into his arms. "It seems to me that you need a nap." Legolas nodded and snuggled closer to his father.
Thranduil chuckled as he made his way to his sons room. Yes, this afternoon had been a delightful experience.
The End
A/N
Ion nin- my son
italics- memory
This just came to me about three hours ago and I just had to type it up. For those of you who celebrate it- Happy Halloween!
Please review and tell me what you think of it!! :)
-sofia