Queen Findilan sat on the edge of her large bed, and absent-mindedly smoothed out some creases in the lavender gown that she wore. Golden hair hung down her back, and it swung from side to side when she shook her head or nodded at various intervals during her husband's tirade.
"You over-react, meleth," she said gently.
King Thranduil spun around and stared at her as though she were mad. "Over-react? Have you heard nothing of what I have been telling you? Calaen came to me and asked if I ever wish that he is not my son. How am I supposed to react?"
"Well, ranting and raving will get you no-where," replied Findilan. "You need to calm yourself."
"I am calm."
"You also need to sit down," the Queen continued.
"I am fine standing up."
"You make the place look untidy," said Findilan.
Thranduil stared at her for a moment, before sinking down onto the bed. He took both her hands in his, and gazed deeply into her eyes. "I would not be telling you this if I was not worried. You know that, meleth. I fear that Calaen may be beginning to suspect something."
"It could just be childish worries," said Findilan gently. "He is no longer an Elfling, but do not forget that he is still a child, and may feel insecure about something. Maybe something is troubling him."
"Maybe you are right," Thranduil sighed. "But he should not have to feel insecure. Look, I have been thinking everything through, and now I begin to believe that it is not fair to keep him in the dark any longer. He is of an age now where he should be told."
Findilan's pale eyes softened, and she shook her head. "Do you truly think so? Maybe it would be best to leave it alone. Just for a while longer."
"But what if he finds out some other way?" asked Thranduil. "Nearly the whole damned Realm knows about it already. I am quite sure that those around Calaen's age have been told by elder siblings, and probably all around Airëlus' age know also. I would have him find out from us, his parents, rather than anyone else."
"If you truly feel strongly about this, I will not object," said Findilan slowly. "But, think of what it would do to our family. Can you imagine how Airëlus would feel? Shut out, because we did not tell him sooner. Legolas is far too young to understand this. And Calaen...Valar only knows how he would react. Think about this, meleth."
Thranduil sighed, but nodded almost resentfully. "Maybe you are right. Maybe it is best if silence is kept. At least, for a while."
"Yes, I think so," replied Findilan.
"Thank you," said Thranduil quietly.
The Queen arched a delicate eyebrow, and smiled. "What for?"
"Just...thank you for everything. If I did not have you, I would be lost. I would not be able to find the strength to go on," replied Thranduil, trailing his fingers up and down his wife's cheek.
"You are strong," breathed Findilan.
"No, I am nothing without you. I sometimes wonder what my life would be if we had never met," Thranduil sighed.
"Do not dwell on what might have been. Think only on what is, and what you have now," said Findilan gently. She paused, and her eyes sparkled. "Unless, of course, you wish we had never met."
Instead of answering, the Elven-king kissed his wife lightly on the lips, before pulling back to gaze into her eyes. She smiled, and leaned forwards to rest her head on Thranduil's chest. She could hear the beating of his heart, and she laughed quietly, melodically.
"That was nearly as stupid as what Calaen said to me," Thranduil mused.
"We have spoken of that already," the Queen replied. "Do not think of it any more."
Thranduil nodded slowly, and kissed Findilan on the cheek before moving away from the bed. "Yes, you are right. Come, it is time for the evening meal. It would not be setting a good example if were late to dinner."
"No, not at all," Findilan agreed. "You go down now, and I will join you in a moment. I just need to change into something else."
"Ah, you look beautiful as you are," said Thranduil.
"Flattery will get you no-where, meleth," Findilan replied.
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"So, you actually hid the work that Ameldir had prepared for your lesson?" asked Airëlus, feigning disapproval.
Legolas raised his head from where it rested against his mother's shoulder, and glanced across at his father. The King's expression was un-readable. Looking back at his fair-haired brother, the Prince nodded. "Ye-es, but I did give it back to him afterwards."
"You would not have done so if I had not told you to," said Thranduil.
"Yes, I would," Legolas insisted.
"So, can you honestly say that if Ameldir had not found out what you had done, you would have admitted to the crime?" asked Thranduil. The Elfling merely lowered his eyes. "Ah, I thought so."
"Ada, you speak as though he really has committed an unforgivable crime," laughed Calaen, from his place on the floor at Airëlus' feet.
The Elven-king nodded gravely, and went to stand at the window. Darkness had fallen a long time back, and they were all in the family room now, a warm fire burning in the grate. Legolas kept on nearly falling asleep, for it had, after all, been a day of hard work for him. Thranduil smiled vaguely.
"Ada?"
"Oh, I was just thinking on what you said, Calaen," replied the King. "In some places, they would consider something like that a crime. They would not deal with it lightly, either."
"That is only humans," said Calaen, as he saw his young brother's eyes widen.
Thranduil turned around, and shook his head slowly. "Only humans, you think? No, I have heard of other Elflings who hid their tutor's work, and within one night, those Elflings had...disappeared."
"Where to?" asked Legolas quietly.
"Who knows? They were never seen again," replied Thranduil, his voice sorrowful. "However, it is said that they are suddenly swooped down upon, and carried away somewhere."
Legolas stared around at his now silent family, and bit down on his lip. "I...I really am sorry. Really."
"So were all of those other little Elflings. Unfortunately, it did them no good," Thranduil sighed. He let the sentence hang for at least a minute, and just when Legolas looked as though he was relaxed, the King darted forwards and swept the child from his wife's arms, and into his own.
"Ada, I'm sorry! No, please stop! Put me down, I won't do it again!" screamed Legolas, as he was swung around in the air. "Ada, I'm sorry!"
Thranduil laughed, and drew his Elfling close. "I know you are."
"That was a cruel trick to play," said Findilan. "Look, you have terrified the poor child."
"No, he hasn't," said Legolas breathlessly, though the expression on his face betrayed his words.
"It may have been cruel, but it was also very funny," Airëlus smirked.
Thranduil smiled and inclined his head. "Quite so. Greenleaf, you are tired. Say goodnight to your mother and brothers, then I will take you to bed."
Legolas nodded, and his eyes fluttered shut briefly when Findilan rose and kissed him on the cheek. Airëlus also rose to say goodnight to his youngest brother, but Calaen remained down on the ground. He knew that the Elfling would creep out of bed later, and come to see him.
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"There was no truth to the story, ion-nin," said Thranduil reassuringly, as he un-braided a worried Legolas' hair.
"But you don't know that. What if you wake up tomorrow morning and I have disappeared like those other Elflings?" asked the Prince, nervously playing with the sleeve of his tunic.
Thranduil smiled, and ran a hand gently over his son's head, smoothing out the now loose hair. "If that should happen, I will search all of Arda until I find you. Should that fail, I will go beyond the shores of Middle-Earth, and I will not rest until you are back with me."
Legolas smiled sadly, and turned to face his father. "So, you are saying that I might get taken away."
'Should have seen that coming,' thought Thranduil, as he pulled back the covers of the bed to let his son crawl under them. "No, I do not mean that. Do you trust me, Greenleaf?"
"Yes."
"Good. Well, you must trust me when I say that no-one will ever, ever take you away from me. No matter what happens, no matter where you go in life, you will never be taken from me," said Thranduil softly.
"Nana?" asked Legolas.
The Elven-king smiled. "No, nor Nana. Nor Calaen. Nor Airëlus."
The Elfling thought about this for a moment, before nodding his head in satisfaction. "Alright, that is good. Ada?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, ion-nin," replied Thranduil, leaning down and kissing Legolas on the forehead, before putting out the lamp that burned, and quietly leaving the room.
The young Elven-prince lay in silence for a moment, though it was a matter of seconds before he swung himself out of bed and trotted across to the door, his woollen blanket clutched in one hand. Standing up on tiptoes, he wondered vaguely how long it would be before he was able to open the door easily, and without any work having to be done.
After what seemed an age of stretching and pulling – though was actually no more than a minute or so – a sliver of light shone into the room, and Legolas slipped out of the partially open door, into the corridor. It was a very long one, but his destination was fairly close by.
No sooner had he begun creeping forwards though, he saw a slender shadow looming over him. He gasped in horror as he realised that Thranduil's story had been true. Holding his blanket tightly, Legolas made to run from the danger, but he suddenly found himself caught by the back of his night-tunic, and lifted into the air.
"Good evening, young one," his captor said in a low voice. "Are you not supposed to be in bed?"
"Who are you?" asked Legolas nervously.
The stranger laughed quietly. "What are you doing roaming the corridors at night, Elfling? Surely that is not safe?"
"I live here, and my Ada said that my home is...is a-always safe," whispered Legolas, dropping his blanket in the struggle to get free. He made a soft noise of despair, and stared down at the floor.
His captor, however, seemed to take pity on the frightened child, for he pulled him close to his body and leaned down to rescue the fallen blanket. Legolas blinked as golden hair fell into his eyes. From this new position, though, he was able to look up and see who the stranger was. His own ocean eyes met a pair of ice blue ones, and he swallowed nervously. Oh. Maybe meeting the stealer-of-Elflings was better than this.
"What, ion-nin, are you doing?" asked Thranduil coolly. "Correct me if I am wrong, but, are you not supposed to say in your bed, once in it?"
"Yes," said Legolas miserably.
Thranduil laughed, and pushed the blanket back into the small Elfling's hands. "I waited for you in the dark. I knew you would try and visit your brother's room."
"Oh. So, maybe it would've been better to wait a few minutes before leaving," Legolas sighed.
"Maybe. If I take you to Calaen, you must go back to your own bed afterwards, and not get out again," said Thranduil.
Legolas nodded, feeling more relaxed now that he was sure he was not going to be spirited away anywhere. "Ada, I thought you had come to take me away, like all of the other Elflings who disappeared. You frightened me."
"If you had stayed in bed, you would not have been afraid," said Thranduil, pausing as they reached Calaen's door. "Besides, did you not hear what I told you about that story being untrue? Valar, my words just go in one ear and out the other. I may as well stay silent."
"Alright, but if you are not going to talk, will you please put me down and open the door for me?" asked Legolas seriously. "It is still hard for me to reach the handle."
Without saying a single word, Thranduil deposited his bundle onto the floor, and pulled down on the afore-mentioned handle. The door opened at the same time as he melted back into the shadows, and Legolas smiled, before going into his brother's room.
Calaen was writing in a leather-bound book, though he snapped it shut as soon as he saw the Elfling. "Oh Greenleaf, did you open the door on your own?"
"It is not that hard to do," replied Legolas, climbing up onto the bed. "Anyway, it isn't because I can't open the doors, it is because I can't reach the handles."
"Sorry," said Calaen. "My mistake."
Legolas nodded as he sat beside his brother, and absent-mindedly fiddled with the sleeve of his tunic. "We are going into the forest tomorrow, because I did all of that work. Cal, can I ride with you?"
"Why me?" asked the elder Prince.
"Oh, I can always ride with someone else," said Legolas hurriedly.
Calaen laughed, and hugged the Elfling close to his chest. "No, I did not mean that. I meant, why should you wish to ride with me when you could ride with Ada or Naneth or Airëlus?"
Legolas was silent for a moment, thinking. "Well, Ada would be no fun. He isn't talking at the moment. I always ride with Nana. And Airëlus will only want to talk about books. But, you have interesting things to talk about."
Calaen smiled, and pulled the covers of the bed up over both himself and the Elfling. "Then, of course you can ride with me. Books are not as boring as you think, nor is Airëlus. And Ada...why is he not talking?"
"I don't know. He is strange," said Legolas quietly, almost inaudibly, as he rested his head against Calaen's chest.
"You are tired," said the dark haired Elf.
"Hmm. I will...go back to my bed," muttered Legolas.
Calaen shook his head, and held the younger Prince closer. "No, stay here. Sleep in here tonight, Greenleaf. You will only sleep late tomorrow morning, and you may miss our departure."
If he expected a reply from the Elfling, he did not get one. Legolas' eyes had slid out of focus, and his infant face was partially hidden by golden tresses. Calaen smiled as he gazed down at his brother, and within a few minutes, had let himself be taken by sleep.
Unknown to the two Princes, the door opened a while after, and their father came in. He took one look at them, shook his head, and thought: 'Ai, children."
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Legolas-gurl88: Yeah, I felt sorry for him even when I wrote it. Nope, they haven't gone through the woods yet, but you've probably guessed that from this chapter. Yes, he's innocent at the moment. I wonder how long that will last!
kathysidle: Yeah, that's the one! What a nasty Elf! Don't worry, Airëlus is...in this chapter! There wasn't very much of him, but he is in it some more later on.
October Skye: I was also kind of sceptical about writing this, but it's going good, so I'm glad that I started it!
Lady Leeanne: You saw Orlando Bloom?! Where? How? Oh my God, you are so lucky! Did you actually meet him? Wow, I would die to meet him!!! (I am so not obsessed!) Sorry. To answer your question, Calaen is about 12 years old. Mortally speaking. Obviously.
Kelsey: I don't want to entirely change people's opinions of Calaen, but I still want them to know that he has his reasons, and there's more to him than what you see in the other two. Airëlus doesn't know about Berian yet, but this definitely isn't the end of the nasty Elf! He doesn't pop up for a while yet, but he'll definitely be coming back!
Rutu: Yeah. Maybe everything would have worked out ok if they had gone out into the forest on the day they were supposed to. I guess we'll never know...
Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I'll be back with more on Friday!