King Thranduil held his wife's lifeless body close, oblivious in his disbelief and grief that Calaen had sunk to the base of a tree and was sobbing into his hands; Airëlus had turned away from the scene, though tears of confusion flowed down his cheeks; and Legolas sat on the forest floor crying quietly, not understanding.
It took what seemed an age for someone to shakily voice the question: what happened?
"I...I don't know," whispered Thranduil. "Valar, her neck...it...it is broken."
"How?" asked Airëlus through gritted teeth. He would not, could not believe that his mother was dead.
"I don't know," said Thranduil quietly, shaking his head. He glanced up then, and seemed to notice his children for the first time. Biting back tears, he gathered Findilan's body in his arms and got unsteadily to his feet.
"What are you doing?" asked Airëlus.
Thranduil waited a moment to see if he would wake up, and find that he was dreaming all of this. No, he didn't. "Darkness is falling. We must get her back to the palace."
"Why? Does she still live?" asked Calaen, jumping to his feet as hope was momentarily restored.
"Does she...? She is... she..." Thranduil breathed out deeply to try and calm himself. "No, she does not live. Come, we must get to the horses."
"Fell."
Thranduil turned, and blinked as he saw Legolas sitting on the forest floor. The Elfling was holding something in one hand, whilst the other was wrapped around his right ankle. Cuts adorned the young Prince's tear-stained face, and the Elven-king winced as he realised that he had momentarily forgotten that his son was even there.
"Nana fell," whispered Legolas. "She fell."
Choking back a sob, Airëlus stepped forwards and swept the Elfling into his arms. Legolas cried out, though, as his sprained ankle was knocked, and he buried his face into his elder brother's shoulder, and let all of his tears fall.
"Thank you, Airëlus," said Thranduil quietly. "Calaen, come. We must leave."
The dark haired Prince just stood in silence for a moment, staring at the spot where his mother had fallen. In that instant, he realised that life would never ever be the same again. For any of them.
Later that night, the Mirkwood palace was as silent as the dead. All were in mourning for their Queen, and none more so than the Royal Family. They spoke very little, and when they did, it was merely to break the awkward silence which hung in the air.
"How is your ankle now, Greenleaf?" asked Airëlus absent-mindedly, not really realising that he had spoken until he got a reply back.
"Doesn't hurt," Legolas muttered.
Thranduil sat at his desk, staring down at the floor of his study. He had never experienced this. Or rather, he had never experienced this with children. He did not know how to comfort them, what to say or what to do.
When his father had died at the Last Great Alliance of Men and Elves, Thranduil had been affected, yes, but he had still been very young, only a few years older than Airëlus was now. He had only been the Prince, the King's son back then, and he had so many people to turn to. Now though, there was no-one. He had to be prepared to be the shoulder for his children to cry on. He wasn't.
'I have to be strong for my sons,' he thought. 'Calaen is sitting in the corner, still crying in silence. He thinks I haven't noticed. Airëlus has taken it upon himself to care for Legolas, and has forgotten about his own grief. Legolas doesn't understand, I don't think. Nor do I, really. No-one does."
"Legolas," the King said at last, "will you...will you tell me now what...happened?"
"No," breathed Calaen, and without saying another word, he jumped up and ran from the room.
"It is too soon," said Airëlus, "for all of us."
Legolas slid from his eldest brother's lap, and moved slowly over next to Thranduil's chair. He looked up and tugged gently on his father's robes, and when sad and confused eyes met his, he lifted his arms.
"What is it?" asked Thranduil wearily, shaking his head.
"Pick him up," Airëlus sighed. "He does that when he wants to be-
"I know, I know," the Elven-king cut in. Valar, was he even forgetting his son's special little things that he did? He reached down and swung Legolas up, and the Elfling immediately nestled against his father's chest.
"Ada, if you do not need me, I think I will go now to my own room," said Airëlus, getting to his feet. "I think that maybe sleep would maybe make me feel a little...I don't know."
"I understand," replied Thranduil, smiling gently. "Thank you for your help, Airëlus. If you do not mind, though, would you look in on Calaen, just to make sure that he is alright?"
"Of course," said the Crown Prince. He nodded goodnight to his father and brother, and swiftly left the room.
Thranduil looked down at the golden head resting against his shoulder, and he sighed deeply. "Legolas, do you...do you wish me to take you to your bed?"
"No. I want to stay with you," came the muffled reply.
'Of course you do,' Thranduil thought bitterly. 'Your mother has just...died. Where else would you rather be than with your only other parent?'
"Ada, I didn't mean to run away from you earlier," said Legolas, raising his head slightly. "Nana told me that you have a lot of things on your mind, and now I don't think that I helped you very much."
Thranduil stared down at the child in amazement. "Why do you speak of that at a time like this? Do you not wish to talk of your mother, or how you are feeling? Why do you...?" The King trailed off as horrible realisation hit.
"Ada?"
'He doesn't understand,' thought Thranduil helplessly. 'Valar help me, he has never seen death before, and he does not know that his mother is not coming back.'
Calaen sat on his bed with his knees drawn up tightly to his chest. He stared unseeingly at the opposite wall, for his vision was blurred by tears which stung at his eyes. They did not fall though; he would not let them. He would not accept the fact that...No, he was not even going to think of it.
There was a gentle knock on the door, and it swung open silently. Airëlus came in and went to sit on the bed next to his brother. Pale blue eyes locked onto shimmering green ones, and the elder Elf leant forwards slightly.
"Calaen, talk to me."
"There is nothing to talk about," the dark haired Prince said quietly. "I was actually just about to go to sleep."
"I know you are hurting," said Airëlus. "I know the pain that you feel, for I feel it as much as you do. Everything is happening so fast that-
"It all seems unreal," Calaen finished for his brother.
Airëlus nodded slowly, trying to force away the painful lump in his throat. "Yes, unreal is the right word. I do not want to believe that this is truly happening, that we are really living this, but in my heart, I know it to be true."
"She...she was alive yesterday," said Calaen in a low voice. "Valar, she was alive today, this morning, even this afternoon. How can she not be here now? It doesn't make sense, Airëlus, it doesn't-
"Hush, hush," breathed the Crown Prince, moving forwards and pulling his younger brother close to him. "I know it hurts, Cal, I know it does."
"When the realisation actually hit that she is dead, I promised myself I would shed no tears, because that makes it all the more real," whispered the dark haired Elf. "How did she go? Why was she taken from us? She never did anything to anybody."
Airëlus sighed deeply and closed his eyes, though that did not prevent silvery tears from escaping. "No, it does not seem fair. She-
"What do you mean it 'does not seem fair'?" hissed Calaen, pulling away from the embrace. "It isn't fair, Airëlus. We should not be talking about this, we should not be mourning her, and she should still be here, with us."
Do you think I don't know that?" asked the Crown Prince. "Do you think that you are the only one who is hurting? You're not."
Calaen lowered his eyes, and nodded sadly. "I know. I know, and I am sorry. I don't suppose I am making things any easier for you."
"Do not worry about it," said Airëlus gently. He stood up and touched a hand to his brother's shoulder. "Try and get some sleep now. Maybe you will feel a little better for it."
Calaen nodded, though he doubted very much that sleep would come. "Airëlus, will you...? No, it does not matter."
"Go on."
"I...Well, will you...will you stay in here tonight?" asked the dark haired Elf quietly. "You don't have to, I just want...need someone near, I suppose."
"Of course I will. Did you think I would say no?" Airëlus replied gently. He kicked off his boots and sat on the bed again. "I left Legolas with Ada."
"Do you think he will be alright?"
"Who?"
"Ada."
"Oh." Airëlus rested his hands behind his head, and shrugged. "I don't know. It is hard to say, really. He seems to be at a loss as to what to do. The fact that we don't really know what happened doesn't make things any easier."
"And Legolas?"
Airëlus paused for a moment before replying. "Legolas is...To be honest with you, I don't know about him, either. I would expect him to be more affected by what has happened, but he seems to be relatively calm."
Calaen stared up at the ceiling and nodded slowly. "Oh. Airëlus, we...we will get through this, won't we?"
"Of course," replied the older Elf, reaching across and wrapping an arm around his younger brother's shoulders. "It will be hard, and there will be obstacles to overcome. But yes, we will get through this."
Jedi Gollum: No, it doesn't make you strange, because I liked him even though he was a bit mean. But maybe that makes me strange. Oh well, we can both be strange.
Legolas-gurl88: Yeah, poor everyone! You know, for some reason, that phrase seems to crop up quite a few times in my reviews. I wonder why?! Anyway, Legolas would be around five or six years old in human terms. Ah, how sweet!
kathysidle: Hey, another person who included the phrase 'poor everyone' in their review! Everyone says that! Not that I mind. It's kinda cool, really. Hee hee, yeah the darkness is on its way!
Haldir's Heart and Soul: Too much to wish for!
Pippin the hobbit-elf: No, you are right. Berian from this story and Berian from 'A Brother's Jealousy' are definitely the same Elf. It may be confusing right now, but it will all sort itself out. Berian plays quite a big part later on in the story, and it will also be explained how he fell in with Calaen later on. Don't worry, hopefully you won't be confused. Did you have a good time in Florida? I love it there! But did you have any problems with the storms? And the flashback? It will be in at some point. I've already planned it!
Jennifer: I have to agree with you.
Sorry that this is slightly late. I thought that I had to re-write something in this chapter, but it turns out that I actually don't have to, and the change I have to make is in the chapter after next. Anyway, see you on Thursday! Actually, the Thursday chapter won't be up until the evening, I think, because that's the day I get my GCSE results. Ah, scary! Oh, I forgot to say something else. This is a long author's note. No, that wasn't what I wanted to say. I know that Findilan's death was not very detailed. That was partly because I had it as a flashback in 'A Brother's Jealousy'. However, if you can't remember exactly what happened, don't worry. All you have to do is wait for a day or two, cos there will be more explanation of what happened in either the next chapter or the chapter after. I can't remember which. Ok, now I'm done!