Wolf sat unblinking for a moment or two, for Thranduil's words had stirred up some feeling within his soul. He was like a man waking from a deep slumber who struggles to recall a dream that has plagued him the night through. For Wolf, there was a feeling of knowing that name, Alandor, some way far back in his foggy and half-forgotten past.
"Alandor?" he repeated. "Alandor." He closed his eyes as if in deep thought.
Thranduil sat watching Wolf's reactions intently. Legolas also sat quietly nearby, lost as to what the connection was or who Alandor might be. At any rate, it was obvious that if Wolf and Alandor were one and the same, Thranduil was most excited. Patiently, Legolas waited to see what was to happen.
"Alandor?" Thranduil repeated, as the elf opened his eyes.
"I remember that name. I was called that once, long ago, though I had all but forgotten it, Wolf being my new identity," Wolf began. "There are scattered shards of memories."
"Tell me what you remember," prodded the elven king.
"I remember very little before the days of my slavery, first to the orcs, then to men. There is a stuffed bear I remember, cream colored with a smiling face and as soft as a morning breeze. I remember a brown pony with a streaming black mane, with a single white diamond on his forehead. And I remember taking this pony out for rides when I was but a child. Strong hands would lift me to his back and hold me steady on our short adventures. I guess the hands belong to my father, but I cannot recall his face, nor that of my mother. Mostly I remember a lullaby, sung to me at bedtimes when the world had grown dark and night covered all."
"Can you sing a little now?" Thranduil asked.
Wolf nodded. "If that is your wish."
Slowly, lowly, Wolf began his song, his voice deeper than when he spoke.
Hear the merry crickets chirping in the wood
The young night is so fair and mild
Your song I would keep if only I could
So sing your sweet song for my dear child
Night is a blessing and sleep is a boon
The sun had gone down into the west
In the comfort of light of the moon
All the world's creatures take their rest
The stars are alight in the darkened sky
In the morning in the east the sun shall creep
And then the shadows of night will die
So watch over my child so fast asleep
It was only a small fragment of the much longer song, but here Wolf stopped, allowing the last sonorous deep-throated notes to fade in the morning breeze. Legolas nodded his head slightly; Wolf had hit every note perfectly. Thranduil looked thoughtful, and Legolas thought there was a look of pain mixed with relief.
"Alandor," he said at length. "It is you, my son. By the grace of the Valar you have come back to me."
Legolas looked up sharply at his father, with no small amount of confusion written on his face.
"The burn on his back, the memories, and the song have proved it to me," Thranduil said to them both. "I made that song up myself and none but you both would have ever had that sung to you. Yet there is one final test I must make to be certain. If indeed you are Alandor, you will know the answer to this next question. Think back as far as you can to your childhood. I gave you a nickname, a secret between you and me, which we never told your mother. Do you remember it?"
Wolf looked at him blankly for a moment before speaking. "You called me Horse-lord because of my love of horses and because of the way that I took care of that pony, though I can scarcely bring to mind his name now."
"It is you!" Thranduil exclaimed, at last embracing his once lost son. Once he broke away, he looked at Legolas with a sigh.
"There is much that I must tell you, things which I never spoke of. I know you must be confused as to all of this and I will tell you both the tale in full. I met Alandor's mother in Rivendell. She was a maid in the house of Elrond and I met her by chance while visiting his home. I was just a prince back then; your grandfather was still alive. When he died in the Last Alliance, I became king and married the young elf maiden, Desoria. Together we ruled Mirkwood and later Alandor was born, but fate was against us, despite what happiness we had. Spiders and orcs had made alliances to try and take the woods. Many a time we had suffered such raids and many a valiant elf was slain in their wake. Still, we fought back and thought for a while that we had won. By the time Alandor was six, we all thought that it was all over. So it came as a shock when the raid came. Desoria and Alandor had gone out for a walk in the woods with several others. None ever came back alive. A search party came across the remains of the raid a few days later. By then, the bodies of the dead had been so mutilated that we could only identify them by bits of clothing found on or near them. Spiders had been at work too…eating the dead. Heavy rains had washed away what tracks had been made and so we lost the trail of the vile creatures."
"So there was no search?" Legolas asked.
"There was, a great search that lasted two moon cycles. But at last we came to the only conclusion that we felt we had evidence to. We had found in several places bones stripped clean of muscle and flesh. Among one of these, we found tattered bits of cloth…such as only a prince would wear. This was found near to Desoria's body. Alandor was dead, my captains assured me." Here the king paused to take a breath and to drain the tea from his mug. "One hundred and fifty seven years passed and I passed each day in mourning for my lost family. Then I met Laila. As you already know, Legolas, she was a Mirkwood elf. She saved me from my depression and mended my soul, though I never forgot Desoria or you, Alandor. After a time, we were married and two hundred and one years after losing my first family, Legolas was born."
"What happened to Laila?" asked Alandor. "I should very much like to meet her."
"I wish that were possible," replied Thranduil, "but she has since passed over the seas to Valinor."
"Why did you never speak of this before?" asked Legolas. "Did you fear that I might resent knowing?"
The king shook his head. "It was too painful for me. To bring up those memories would have shred my heart into pieces. Resent me if you will for withholding such knowledge."
"I shall not," Legolas replied. "I understand."
Thranduil nodded. "But now, I must ask your leave. There is much to be done. Tonight we celebrate, for Alandor has returned and the southern strongholds are freed."