A/N: So I suppose I should keep putting a disclaimer up here. Still don't own any of the characters. And I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but do you know how time consuming it is to look for a job? I bet when I'm actually working again, I'll have more time to write. Odd. Anyway, here we go again!
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Chapter 5:
After washing up and putting on some clean clothes, Legolas sat down heavily on the end of his bed. The reality of what had just happened was sinking in. Once again, he had succumbed to the advances of a strange woman. And, even worse, practically everyone he knew in Middle Earth had seen him! He could try to deny it, but his appearance had left little to the imagination. Except perhaps for the hobbits, he chuckled to himself. But then his thoughts returned to the problem at hand. What would he say to his father? Or, perhaps worse, what would his father say to him?
After Legolas had made his sudden entrance and exit from the banquet, all of the guests shifted uncomfortably. They did not want to call attention with their silence to an incident that was obviously quite embarrassing to their host, but neither could one of them pipe up with, "So, how 'bout them Mirkwood spiders?" Nearly everyone handled the situation by looking down at their plates and picking at what was left of their food, since the main course had been served some time before. Fortunately, several servants came in bearing desert, which was the perfect distraction.
Several guests immediately fixed their attention on the servants, but Thranduil barely noticed them. He was torn between his two duties. On the one hand, he did not want to call any additional attention to Legolas' affliction by abandoning his role as host. On the other hand, he wanted immediately to speak with his son. But what would he say? His heart was filled with anger and sadness at the same time. Legolas was a disgrace to the royal house, but Thranduil loved his son and saw the genuine pain and remorse that Legolas felt for his actions. The banquet was almost over. The king knew that he could slip off relatively undetected later in the evening. He would stay and behave like the gracious host he was.
Galadriel, ever full of social grace, withdrew her hand from Thranduil's and broke the silence with a light, effortless smile. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I am quite ready for desert! King Thranduil, what delicacies have your renowned chefs prepared for us this evening?"
Hearing his name, the king snapped out of his thoughts suddenly. He had nothing to do with the planning of the menu, so he had no idea what was for desert. Oh, here it was already! He smiled back at Galadriel, inwardly thrilled that no one had said a word about Legolas. Yet. "My Lady, I do not know. I shall be surprised along with everyone else!"
This was the cue that casual conversation could resume, and the rest of the dinner proceeded without incident. After the meal, musicians took their places in the hall, but most of the guests were not in the mood for dancing. Some were, though. While a small group huddled in a corner, speaking in low tones, three couples spun in time to the music, oblivious to all else: Faramir and Eowyn, Galadriel and Celeborn, and Arwen and Elrond. Merry and Pippin were both trying to get Gimli to dance, but the dwarf would have no part of it. Gimli had consumed some ale that evening, but not enough to make him want to dance with a hobbit. Sam looked on in amusement, but it was only about to get better. Elrond announced that he had danced enough for one evening, and went to thank his host before retiring. This left Arwen without a dance partner. She scanned the room for her husband, but did not know where he had gone. Arwen thought little of this, even with her husband's strange behavior of late, since Aragorn often wandered off. She was having too much fun dancing to be bothered going to look for him, so Arwen resolved to dance with the next male she laid eyes on...Sam.
Sam was just starting to wonder where Frodo had gone, and getting ready to find him, when suddenly the Queen of Gondor was standing right in front of him. Smiling, she extended her hand. "Samwise Gamgee, may I have this dance?" Too dumbstruck to refuse, Sam let her lead him onto the dance floor.
As soon as Merry and Pippin saw this, they stopped teasing Gimli and realized that they had just missed a prime opportunity. But there were still two women on the dance floor! Who cared if they were married? With much zeal and little aplomb, Merry approached Celeborn and Pippin stood beside Faramir. The two hobbits said, almost in unison, "Can I cut in?" This made all four dance partners laugh out loud. But the man and the elf yielded.
Faramir turned to Celeborn and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to sit out a dance or two."
Celeborn laughed again and replied, "I quite agree. Shall we find our host?" And find him they did, deep in conversation with Gandalf. Gimli also joined them, wanting to stay as far away from the dance floor as he possibly could. Part of him was tempted to approach Galadriel, but he thought better of it with her husband present.
Caring nothing for the festive atmosphere inside, Aragron was in the gardens, speaking urgently with the four other elves. He kept looking over Haldir's shoulder, afraid of someone overhearing. But those outside their circle were much too engrossed in dancing to notice them, except for Frodo. For the first time in what felt like years, Frodo was able to slip away from Sam. He didn't know what was going on, but with Legolas showing up to dinner like he did, all was not well. Aragorn saw the hobbit approach, but was not concerned. "Ah, Frodo. So glad you could join us. Our conversation concerns you, too. Do you know why we are all here?"
Frodo replied suspiciously, "I received a cryptic invitation. I do not know what it means, but I am here nonetheless."
Rumil nodded in assent. Aragorn, Haldir, and the twins knew more than they were letting on. He was glad to know that he was not the only one who felt like he was being left in the dark. But everything would be revealed at the Secret Council. He figured that he could wait until then.
Elladan turned to the hobbit and asked, teasingly, "So are you ready for tomorrow, little halfling?" His brother threw him an elbow, but Elladan didn't seem to care.
Frodo was still confused, however. "What happens tomorrow?"
"The Council!", sighed Haldir irritably.
"What Council?", asked Frodo, more confused than ever.
"The reason for your invitation!" Haldir wondered whose idea it was to even have hobbits at this meeting. It wasn't his idea, that's for sure. He thought that the problems of elves should be kept among elves. It had not occurred to him that non-elves might have a stake in the outcome, as well.
Aragorn knew that the details of the Council were only known to a few. What he did not know was whether Legolas was one of those few. He ignored Haldir's impatience and answered Frodo's question. "Meet me here tomorrow at noon. Then all will be revealed."
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After a time, even the hobbits had tired of dancing. His guests had been gradually returning to their rooms, so Thranduil finally motioned to the musicians that they were no longer needed. With a bow, the king excused himself from those who were left. He had lingered longer than he planned, but seeing the hobbits dancing was priceless.
Finally, Thranduil had summoned the courage to approach his son's door. He knocked. No answer. Another knock. More silence. The king opened the door slowly and extended a hand into the room, holding a faint candle. There was no sign of the prince. Well, that was not entirely accurate. The breeches that he had worn earlier were on the floor, along with a towel, and his bed coverings were slightly creased, but Legolas had definitely not retired for the night. Thranduil released a deep breath that he did not even know he was holding. He would have a few more hours to figure out what to say to his son.
Meanwhile, Legolas was formulating his responses to the tirade that he knew was coming. He had climbed out of one of his bedroom windows so that there was no chance of meeting someone in the halls. Especially his father. From his balcony, he was able to make a short jump to his favorite tree, where he always went when he needed to think. And he spent a long time thinking that night. Legolas could hear the sounds of music and laughter, and he longed to be part of it, but he couldn't bring himself to move.
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The next morning, many in the palace awoke reluctantly. Aragorn didn't awake, so much as see that it was light and decide to get up before his wife could ask where he was going. He wanted to tell her...But it was so much easier not to. He wanted to have some time alone with his thoughts before he met Frodo. And there was one more person he had to speak with before then.
Elladan and Elrohir, on the other hand, several doors down in their guest quarters, were so excited that they could hardly wait for noon to come. They went down to breakfast, but barely ate because they were so busy checking the position of the sun. Perhaps if they had better grasped the purpose for the meeting, they would not have been as eager to get there.
Gimli did not rise with the sun, as he was still feeling the effects of the previous evening's ale. But when he did finally get up, his first thought was of his elven friend. He had gone looking for Legolas after the king excused himself, but come up with nothing. Gimli did not want to look like a rude guest, but ever since he caught the glimpse of a half-dressed and completely disheveled Legolas at dinner, he had thought of nothing but speaking to his friend. So Gimli resolved to spend that morning continuing the search.
Everyone else had made their excuses, as necessary, and were making their ways separately to the meeting place, hoping not to arouse any suspicion. But the most important member of the meeting didn't even know about it yet.
It was late morning already when Thranduil once again had worked up enough courage to knock on his son's door. No one in the palace had seen Legolas since his appearance at the banquet, and the king was beginning to worry that Legolas had run off or done something else equally foolish. But this time, when Thranduil got no answer to his knocks, he opened the door to see Legolas standing on the balcony, looking out over the forest. Legolas turned to see who had disturbed his peace and turned away again when he saw his father. Thranduil quickly moved to stand beside his son. The king had spent the whole night formulating a speech equal parts compassionate and stern. But when he opened his mouth, something entirely different came out.
"Now listen to me, son. You will return to the healer right now. And you will see him every day until this problem is solved." Sensing that Legolas was about to respond, Thranduil continued, "And there will be no excuses. You will be able to see the guests when you return. If you weren't having this problem, you would have been present last night at the banquet to greet them when they arrived."
Legolas knew that his father's patience was quickly running out. And he couldn't blame him! Without a word, Legolas turned on his heels, grabbed his pack and weapons from where they were sitting on his bed, and strode out the door.
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As Legolas approached the healer's cottage, he could hear the sounds of low voices coming from within. He could not yet make out the words, or identify the voices, so he stopped walking. Could this be some sort of a trap set by his father? But what would be the purpose for that? Legolas was certain that his father must have sent a messenger ahead to inform the healer of the sudden appointment. Or did the healer have guests and not know that Legolas was coming? As much as he wanted to see the healer, he did not want to be seen by any of his father's subjects, so he hid in some bushes near the path. He was an elf. He had all the time in the world. He could wait a few minutes to see what was going on in the cottage.
Legolas did not have to wait long before he saw Haldir passing by, looking very nervous himself. Of all the elves that Legolas did not want to find him, it had to be Haldir! But to the prince's absolute astonishment, Haldir quickly rushed across the clearing to the healer's door. Without even a knock, the door opened and Haldir slipped inside. Before Legolas could even consider what this might mean, another familiar face came down the same path: Rumil. Just as Haldir had done, he entered the cottage without a word.
Taking a deep breath, Legolas decided to gather his courage and emerge from hiding. Haldir and Rumil had both seen plenty the previous evening, so a visit to the healer would not really be a concern anymore. Legolas did not knock. As he opened the door, his jaw dropped as he saw the chairs in the waiting room arranged in a circle, with his friends filling every seat but one.
The healer greeted him warmly. "Ah, Legolas. So good to see you again. Please sit down and we will get started."
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A/N: Well, I turned out to have more to say than I thought. So you will have to wait for the next chapter to find out about the Secret Council! But I do hope to have it written soon. Thanks again for all the reviews!