Airëlus suddenly put down his book and stared at the ground, as he realised that his mother had died nearly a whole month ago. Four weeks, nearly thirty days. Put like that, it sounded even longer than it was. But it also helped to prove the point that time does not stop for anything, no matter what tragedy takes place. Life will always go on, and there is no way of halting it.
His moment of spontaneous reflection over, he sighed and picked up the book once more. He began to read, but had only gotten a further two lines down the page when his door burst open. The twins tumbled in, cheeks flushed, as though they had been running for a long while.
"I take it you two have never heard of knocking," Airëlus said dryly.
Sorry about that," Elladan grinned.
The Crown Prince shook his head and continued reading. The Noldor Elves were probably playing some sort of game with Legolas. He estimated that in about five minutes, the blonde whirlwind would have found his way to where the twins were – still in Airëlus' room – and all peace would be shattered.
"Sorry to disturb you," Elrohir said, "but, you're needed."
"I know," Airëlus replied, without looking up. "This book needs a reader. That is me."
"It really is quite urgent," Elladan added. "Very important."
"That may be so, but I've got to an important part," the Prince said, turning a page. "Glorfindel is just about to slay the Balrog."
"Oh, what are you reading?" Elrohir asked interestedly.
Airëlus did look up then, in amazement. "What do you think? Glorfindel has only killed one Balrog, has he not? Or have there been any recent changes to that number? If that is the case, it escaped my notice."
"I was just making conversation," Elrohir shrugged. He paused for a moment, but then spoke again. "Really, you are needed."
"By who?" Airëlus sighed. "Legolas? Tell him I'll play with him later. Calaen? I'll go down to the archery field with him later."
"It's your father," Elladan said dryly.
Airëlus winced, and put down on his book. "Oh, I see. What does he want?"
The twins glanced at each other, and smiled simultaneously. Then, they flicked their gazes back to the other Elf, and shrugged. Airëlus watched them for a moment. Something was going on. He could sense it. Their eyes were sparkling too much. They looked far too happy than was healthy.
"What does he want with me?" the Prince repeated.
"We are not at liberty to say," Elladan replied carefully.
"And, why not?" Airëlus asked.
"It's not our business," Elrohir said.
The fair haired Elf hissed at them, and strode over to the door. "Alright, be like that. Is he in his study?"
"No," Elladan smiled.
Silence fell. The twins had not moved from where they stood, and were watching him with strange expressions on their faces. Airëlus swept a hand through his hair, irritated, and took a step back towards them. Neither of them batted an eyelid. Though, if possible, their smiles widened.
"It is quite within my power to have you both locked up for a night," he said dangerously.
Our father wouldn't be too happy with that," Elladan said. "He might wage war on Mirkwood."
"I'm sure he will excuse me," Airëlus growled. "If my father is not in my study, then where is he?"
"The throne room," Elrohir replied.
Airëlus' eyes widened. "Has something happened? Is anything wrong?"
"Why?" the twins asked in unison.
"Well, he only calls us to the throne room if something has happened," the Prince said. "Or, if he's extremely angry. That only concerns Calaen and Legolas, though, not me."
Elladan smiled at the comment. "So I imagine. You should go. He is expecting you."
"Please, I am asking you this as your friend," Airëlus said. "Has something happened? I would have you tell me if that was so."
Elrohir shook his head, and touched a hand to the concerned Elf's shoulder. "Stop worrying. Just go. Everything is alright; he merely wishes to talk with you."
The Crown Prince bit down on his lip. It looked as though he was considering pushing his friends for further details, but he seemingly thought better of it, for he nodded at the dark haired Elves, spun on his heel, and left the room. The twins glanced at each other, eyes twinkling.
"Wait until he finds out," Elladan said.
"He's always wanted this," Elrohir replied. "But, maybe it has come at the wrong time."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, maybe he will refuse the offer," Elrohir shrugged. "It would make sense. It seems a very...Airëlus-like thing to do, considering the circumstances."
Elladan sighed. "We'll find out later."
............................................................................................................
Airëlus waited impatiently outside the throne room, arms folded across his chest. One of the guards had told him that the King was busy, and would be free in a few minutes. He sighed, and leaned back against the wall. Though, he quickly straightened up when a passing Elf shot him a critical glance. Of course, it was not correct for the Crown Prince to be seen doing anything like that.
Sighing, Airëlus straightened his tunic, making himself look a little more presentable. He wondered vaguely what it was that Thranduil could possibly want with him - and in the throne room as well! Maybe something had happened, and the twins didn't want to tell him.
'After the death of my mother, what could possibly be worse?' Airëlus thought bitterly. But then he kicked himself mentally – now that he thought about it, it sounded incredibly disrespectful. But still, it was the truth.
He, and those whom he loved, had been put through a grief that should not be bestowed upon anybody, no matter what wrongs they have done in their lives. Findilan's death had changed them all, whether for better or worse, he could not say. It had brought them closer together, he felt, but of course, the sadness had not yet departed, nor would it for a long time, most likely.
"Prince Airëlus."
He looked up, startled. "Yes?"
The guard standing in front of him nodded once towards the doors. "The King will see you now."
Airëlus smiled weakly. He did not know why, but for some reason, being in the throne room always made him apprehensive. Probably because he so rarely had to go in there, and when he did, there was only bad news to be delivered. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forwards, and two more guards pushed open the heavy, oaken doors.
He stepped inside and walked slowly down the hall. The room was beautiful, there was no doubting that, yet still, it had the ability of being able to cause him great uneasiness. At the far end of the room were two platforms, one a little higher than the other. On the first stood three oaken chairs, for the Princes of Mirkwood, whilst on the second, there were two elaborately carved thrones. One was empty, the other was not.
King Thranduil sat in silence as his son came to a halt in front of the dais. His ice-blue eyes were un-readable, his face impassive, and he knew it. Of course, he would do nothing to change that. Not yet, anyway. Although he had to force himself to ignore the expression of concern that Airëlus wore.
"You sent for me..." The Prince trailed off, wondering how to address Thranduil. Should he address him as his father or the King? He decided on the latter. "You sent for me, Your Highness."
Thranduil inclined his head as Airëlus sank to one knee, as a gesture of respect. "Rise."
The fair haired Elf quickly did so, and the worry in his eyes was evident. Clearly it was all he could do to stop himself from demanding he be told the reasons for his being there. Instead, he stepped forwards a little, and locked his gaze onto the King's, pleading silently with his blue orbs.
"Yes, I did indeed send for you," Thranduil agreed. "You do not know why?"
"I do not."
The King let the sentence hang for a moment, before stepping down from the throne, and touching a hand to Airëlus' shoulder, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "Calm yourself, there is no need for worry."
"There is not?"
"No, and nor is there any reason for formalities," Thranduil replied, "not today."
Airëlus visibly relaxed, and a little of the concern left his eyes. "Then, why did you call me here? Is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, of course it is," Thranduil nodded. "Before you came, I had to speak with someone, and it just so happened that the discussion took place in here. It just made more sense to have you come down here."
"If I may ask, who was it?" Airëlus said carefully.
The King smiled, and stepped up on the platform to sit back down on the throne. "It was the Captain of the Guard. Of course, you are of the age now where you can become a solider of Mirkwood. You have done all the training, and he just wanted to finalise things."
"Finalise things?" Airëlus said in confusion.
"Yes," Thranduil replied. "You will be pleased to know, that you have been accepted into one of the patrols, and will be able to join the week after next."
"One of the...the week after..." Airëlus blinked in surprise. "Ada, is that true? But I cannot do that!"
Now it was Thranduil's turn to be surprised. "But I thought this was what you wanted. You always used to speak of joining a patrol, and how you couldn't wait to be part of one. What has changed?"
"Yes, I still do want to join one, and become a proper soldier, but not yet." Airëlus exhaled deeply and shook his head. "It is too soon, Ada, and I am not ready for it."
"And why would that be?" Thranduil sighed.
"I just can't," Airëlus said quietly. "It has been but a month since Naneth passed on, and I know that our lives are slowly getting back to normal, but I do not feel as though I can leave Legolas, Calaen and yourself, alone."
"I understand it is hard for you, but to base your own life around those of others is wrong," Thranduil said gently. "You want to do this, Airëlus, I can see that. Do not deny it."
The Prince was silent for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I will not deny it, but I will hate to leave you."
"You will not be," Thranduil replied. "Do not expect to be going on far-away expeditions in the first month or so. You say that you would hate to leave us? I would hate for you to stay behind just because of us."
"Ada, don't make me feel guilty," Airëlus sighed.
"It is the truth," Thranduil shrugged.
The Prince nodded reluctantly. "Legolas will not take it well. I don't know how Calaen will react, either."
"They both knew it was coming," Thranduil said. "We will tell them tonight, at the evening meal. Do not worry about them, Airëlus. Maybe they will be upset at first, but they will be happy for you. We all know that you have wanted this for a long while. And to think, you nearly refused the offer!"
"You will be alright, though?" Airëlus said seriously.
"If you did not do what you want, I would not be alright," Thranduil replied. "Follow your heart, and that will make me happy."
"I will," the Prince said quietly.
Thranduil smiled, and stepped down from the dais. "I never really thought I would see the day when you would be joining your first patrol. I suppose I expected you to stay young forever. I know I am not losing you, but still, it feels...surreal. When the Captain of the Guard came and told me that you are ready, it really hit me that you are growing up."
"You still have Legolas and Calaen," Airëlus said. His voice choked a little.
"Legolas has many years of childhood left, but Calaen is very close in age to you," Thranduil replied. "You are my eldest, and I don't think I have told you just how proud I am of you. I am, more than you can imagine."
Airëlus could only nod. He had not felt this way at first, but since the conversation had gone that way, he was beginning to understand his father's sense of loss. Yes, he was an adult now – his childhood was over, and there was no going back. He was going to become a soldier, a warrior of his country.
"And no matter where you go from here, I will always be proud of you, I will always love you, and nothing can change that," Thranduil continued.
"What do you mean?"
The King said nothing as he embraced his eldest son. He closed his eyes, and inhaled the familiar, forest scent of Airëlus' fair hair. "We do not know what the future holds for us. Anything can happen."
The Prince remained silent, but as the other Elf's words sunk in, an ominous chill swept through him. Yes, anything could happen, and there was nothing they would be able to do about it. The future is a power in itself – uncontrollable; un-changeable; unstoppable.
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Lombadia Greenleaf: I didn't have a blankie! Poor deprived me! But I had a yellow elephant who I called 'yellow Ellie-bellie'!
Jedi Gollum: I give Mozart permission to add Beethoven onto the end of James if he feels that he must. I hope that will make him think more highly of him.
Halimanya: Don't believe everything that you read! I read that on but then I found out that it was just a tabloid story. Fingers crossed, eh?
Haldir's Heart and Soul: Yeah, it would have been better, but I guess that Thranduil doesn't realise that he's not paying attention to Calaen.
Legolas-gurl88: Hello! I'm sorry I didn't send you an e-mail yesterday, only my friend Louise came over, but I'll tell you all about it in a minute, cos I'll send you a message once I've updated. Anyway, speak to you in a minute!
Melony: I respect your opinion, and of course you have the right to think that my story is boring, because everyone is entitled to think what they want. I'm sorry to say it, but your comment was both unjustified and unhelpful. Unjustified because you gave no reasons to support what you said, and this then led to it being unhelpful, because I would like to improve my writing, but cannot do so if all I'm told is that it is 'boring'. I don't know whether you are still reading or not, but if you are, could you please help me out? Thank you.
kathysidle: Hello, I couldn't e-mail you yesterday because my friend came over and we were watching films and doing other random stuff, but I'll send you a message later! Bye!
Ok, I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter. I know I promised that the updates would be regular as of earlier this week, but I realised too late that this chapter had to be completely re-written, so that's why its late. Anyway, I appreciate your un-impatientness. Not that that is a word, or anything.