Airëlus stared at his father in utter shock and horror as the story came to an end. Confusion was in his blue eyes, and disbelief flashed across his face. But there were other emotions he was feeling: anger; betrayal; the hope that maybe he would wake up and find this had all been a dream. How could Calaen...? It could not be true! It was impossible!

"Say something," Thranduil said softly, leaning across the desk to touch a hand to his son's shoulder.

But the Prince pushed it away. "What can I say? What can I possibly say after all you have told me?"

"You wanted answers, and now you have them," Thranduil replied. "Coming to me was a risk. You knew that, but it did not stop that."

"Yes, because I had to know," Airëlus snapped. He shook his head slightly, trying to un-jumble his confused thoughts. "But now that I do know, I..."

"You wish I had not told you," Thranduil finished.

Airëlus looked up, and his expression was cold. "No. I wish you had told me a long time ago. I should not have been the one to broach the subject. It should have been you."

"Why?" Thranduil asked quietly.

"Do you know what the past two weeks have been like?" Airëlus demanded. "I have had these images and thoughts in my head, and I had no way of knowing whether they were true or false."

The Elven-king narrowed his eyes. "You think that is bad? Then, let me tell you something. For every image you had, I have had a thousand more. But I have known all along that there was truth to them. I live with the knowledge that those pictures are not my mind playing tricks on me."

Airëlus shook his head, still disbelieving. "But why...? No. Ada, Naneth would never do anything like that, I know she wouldn't. There must have been another....something...I don't know!"

"I have told you everything," Thranduil said gently. "There is nothing more to it."

"So, I spent nearly my whole life believing that Calaen is my brother, when really, he is not." Airëlus stared accusingly at his father. "You let me believe it. You lied to me; to Calaen; to Legolas; to all of your people."

"No, there are a good number who are aware of the truth," Thranduil admitted quietly.

"What?"

The King flinched inwardly at the hard edge to his son's voice. "Airëlus, if you were to see a family of five Elves, four of whom had light hair and blue eyes, and one who had dark hair and green eyes, what would you think?"

"I...I would think it strange," the Prince had to admit.

"Many were around before Calaen's birth, and they saw the close bond Deorfel and your mother shared," Thranduil sighed. "When I had him killed, there was much talk, for he was one of the first to have his life taken in my realm. Also, they wondered why I should kill my own wife's closest friend. When Calaen was born, they put two and two together."

"Clever them," Airëlus said bitterly. He rested his head in his hands, and exhaled deeply. "Who else knows?"

"Mithrandir, Lord Elrond, Lord Celeborn, Lady Galadriel," Thranduil replied. "I don't know. There are many."

The Prince looked up through narrowed eyes. "And I am not one of them. Trying to get my mind used to the idea of my mother with someone else, and Calaen not being my brother is hard enough, but now I know that you have been lying to us, I-

"How could I tell you?" Thranduil hissed. "They were painful memories, still are. Do you think I wanted to drag up the past and destroy my family?"

"You put it off," Airëlus snapped. "You were afraid – afraid to face the truth. And because you tried to ignore it before, you now have to face the consequences of that stupidity."

Thranduil stood swiftly, and began pacing. "Call it what you will. If trying to protect the ones I love from the truth is stupidity, then yes, I am stupid. Very stupid. And if you must know, only the day before her death, your mother and I spoke of revealing our secret. If it was up to me, you would have all been told. But she did not want that."

"So, you were content to carry on the lies," Airëlus nodded.

"I am no liar, and you will stop accusing me of being one, right now!" Thranduil snapped, eyes flashing. "No matter what has happened in the past, Calaen is my son. I am the one who held him when he cried as an infant; I am the one he came running to if he fell and hurt himself; I taught him how to shoot an arrow and wield a knife; I disciplined him when he needed it; I loved him from the moment I first laid eyes on him, and I have not stopped loving him, nor will I ever. If that does not make him my son and I his father, I don't know what does."

Airëlus lowered his eyes, suddenly ashamed. "Ada, I am sorry. I did not mean to lose my temper, and I should not have said what I did. Forgive me."

Thranduil inclined his head, and rested a hand on the Prince's shoulder. "I do not blame you, for you have every right to be angry."

"How could I not have guessed?" Airëlus breathed. "It all seems so obvious now. How could he have dark hair and green eyes? Valar, I am so stupid."

The Elven-king shook his head. "No. When he was born, you were still young – old enough to notice the difference in his looks, but not old enough to think it strange. You grew so accustomed to seeing him that after a while, you stopped noticing his dark hair and green eyes. Your view was that his features did not matter, for he was your brother."

"That may be so, but what happens now?" Airëlus asked quietly.

Thranduil tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Do you really think that things will go on as they did before? Do you think that when I leave this room, I will forget the whole conversation?" Airëlus demanded. "Calaen is not my brother, and-

"Do you love him?" Thranduil cut in.

"Of course I do," Airëlus snapped. He glared at his father for a moment, before turning his gaze away. When he next spoke, his voice was gentle. "Yes, I love him."

"Then, this new revelation should not change your feelings," Thranduil said softly. "Deorfel is history, Airëlus. As far as I am concerned, he did not even exist. Calaen is your brother, he is my son. It has been that way since he was born, and it always will be."

Airëlus saw the sense in that, but refused to show it. Of course things did not have to change. He would not stop loving Calaen just because he was the blood-son of another. But he was still having trouble comprehending it. He could not... Shaking himself, he raised his eyes once more.

"I cannot keep this secret," he said quietly.

Thranduil did a double take – he had not been expecting that. "What do you mean?"

"Firstly, it would be torture, knowing this but not being able to speak of it. Secondly, it is morally incorrect for Calaen not to be told," Airëlus replied. "You have to tell him, Ada. It would be wrong not to."

"I cannot do that," Thranduil said softly. "I-

"You owe him the truth," Airëlus cut in. "He deserves to know. It is his right to know, and only you can tell him. He has led his whole life believing one thing, and now he must know what is right."

"He is my son," Thranduil said helplessly.

Airëlus sighed, and moved forwards to touch a hand to his father's shoulder. "But Ada, I do not understand. Why now are you so reluctant to speak of this to Calaen, when once it was what you wanted?"

"Keeping my silence was the last thing I promised your mother I would do for her," Thranduil sighed. "I told her I would keep our secret hidden, and I intend to carry on doing that."

"She would understand," Airëlus said softly. "Ada, I fear that you have left it too long as it is. To wait even longer would do nothing but cause further damage."

Thranduil looked up, and his eyes flashed. "Now you think that you have the right to tell me, your father, your King, what to do? Since when has that right been granted to you?"

"I am not-

"You would do well to remember your station," Thranduil said coolly.

That was it. Airëlus knew the conversation was coming to an end. "Yes, as would you. You cannot play the role of King at the moment. Now you must be a father, and do what is right. And please, do not accuse me of trying to tell you what to do. I am trying to help you. Nothing more."

"If you have nothing more to say, you are dismissed," Thranduil replied shortly.

Airëlus nodded, and went over to the door. "Very well. Yet, there is one last question I would have answered."

"Speak."

"What of myself and Legolas?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" the Elven-king snapped.

"Calaen is the son of a mortal. Yes, you may look on him as your own, but you cannot truthfully claim that you are the one who fathered him," Airëlus replied. "Can you truthfully say that you are the father of Legolas and I? Or, are we, like Calaen, not of your blood? Do you have any more secrets, Ada?"

Thranduil's eyes flashed with a mix of anger and pain. "How dare you?" he hissed. "That you would even think of such a notion is one thing, but to imagine that your mother would-

"She did it once before," Airëlus cut in. Despite his words, he knew there was not a chance of what he said being true – and even as he said such things about Findilan, he felt guilt wash over him in waves.

The Elven-king looked as though he was seriously fighting the urge to strike his son, but all he did was nod towards the door. "You are dismissed."

Airëlus said nothing as he swept from the room. Tears of rage gathered in his eyes, and he swiped at them roughly. He could accept that Calaen was the son of another. He could accept that his parents had kept this secret. What he could not accept, was the knowledge of the pain his brother would go through if he were to find out.

'No, not if,' the Crown Prince thought grimly. 'When he finds out. Ada may be afraid to tell him, but I am not. He will be told today.'

............................................................................................................

Jedi Gollum: I saw a programme the other day about escape artists. Some of them are really crazy! I mean, why would you bury yourself under a ton of cement, and then try to get out?! Yes, baby Airëlus can stay with Cield and Tonus, but make sure that Cield is nice to him!

Lombadia Greenleaf: That is very true. But then, if there was no Deorfel, then there would be no Calaen. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? LOL

Irish Anor, Jennifer and Elven Kitten: Glad you liked the chapter! I liked writing it!

Haldir's Heart and Soul: Yes, Thranduil really did love Findilan a lot. Poor them. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed!

Halimanya: Thank you for the praise! Yes, bits of it were very cute, but I think there was a lot of sadness also!

Princess Vespa: I'm glad you think that. I was actually quite worried about first revealing that Calaen was the son of someone else, because I didn't want people thinking that Findilan was a tramp or anything. So, I'm really happy you think I did it ok!

Or, will Calaen be told? I wonder. Actually, I don't. I know the answer to that, and I think that most of you do too. Anyway, not that any of you want to know, but I got a job at McDonald's today. Go me. I am so excited. Yeah right. Anyway, see you soon!

Luv Misto

x-x

PS: I know that some people wanted an alternate ending to 'Captured'. I know I said I would do one, but I'm re-considering that. I just don't have enough time on my hands, plus, I have a few more LOTR stories lined up after this one. If you are really really desperate to see an alternate ending, then tell me, and I'll try and work something else.