Evening spread over the land and the first few stars began to twinkle in the darkened skies. Fires were lit in the wide clearing behind the palace and tables and chairs stood ready for the night's celebration. The smells of roasting sweet meats and the strong, heady scent of wine wafted in the gentle breeze. An outdoor dais was erected and three high backed, plush chairs were placed upon it, behind a long table. Here the woodland king and his sons would be seated, to preside over the festivities. Runners had been sent out earlier in the day to spread the word that the king would be holding a feast, but the reason why had been kept a secret. Now elves from throughout the kingdom came into the clearing, noble and common as they were. Many of the wounded soldiers from the battle over the strongholds also came, their wounds being on the mend thanks to elven healing. Only the most severe cases had been kept indoors to heal, the young warrior Randor among them. Aragorn and Gimli were there as well, speaking with Kyno and a few other elves that they had grown to know. Neither one had seen Legolas or Alandor since they had departed after lunch. Neither had they seen much of Thranduil, for the elf lord had been quite busy overseeing the preparations for the night.
At last all the elves had come and were lightly conversing with one another in the open air. The sound of a trumpet rang out, effectively silencing the crowd.
"My lords and my ladies, honored guests, children of the forest," said a young warden, "I give you your lords, King Thranduil and Prince Legolas Thranduilion."
There was the sound of much cheering, for the two lords were well loved by their people. Now they entered the lighted area, the firelight flickering merrily on their features. They walked side by side and took their place on the dais, Alandor right beside them.
None in the gathered crowded dared to question who the third elf was, though the feeling of confusion and wonder was a mutual one. Thranduil could sense as much and suppressed a small laugh that emerged in his throat. He stood before his chair and put up his hands. Once again, the crowd of elves fell silent. Only the occasional hoot of a night owl and the crackling of the fires broke the silence. After a moment or two of deciding where to begin, Thranduil finally spoke.
"My friends," he said, "tonight we celebrate many things. As you are all well aware, there has been a great effort to reclaim our woods and purge the lingering evil from it. Tonight we celebrate, for my son Legolas has led our forces to yet further victory. Two more strongholds, these in the south, are once again under our control. Let us lift our glasses high and toast him."
"And may we also toast those who have fought by my side and those who could not join us tonight, guarding the strongholds in my absence," Legolas interjected. "Further, let us celebrate the fact that though the evil persists, not a single elf has fallen in battle!"
"Hear, hear!" answered the others.
All took a sip of their wine before Thranduil spoke again.
"There is yet one thing which we have to toast. There are those of you in the crowd tonight, respected elders and friends, who will remember a time when spiders and goblins banded together. Many of our finest warriors fell in daily battles with them, and many innocents lost their lives." A few heads in the crowd silently bowed at the unpleasant memories. "For those of you who do not remember that time, I will say this. Mirkwood had a different queen then and a young prince named Alandor, both of whom were lost in such a raid by the evil creatures. But now the Valar have brought Alandor back to his own people. Behold! I give you Alandor, my eldest son and your prince!"
Much cheering and clapping erupted, for there were indeed many a wizened old elf who remembered the circumstances surrounding the prince's supposed death. Alandor looked slightly embarrassed by the fuss being made and was glad when Thranduil announced "let us feast tonight!"
"The trees celebrate your return as well," Legolas commented casually to Alandor as they ate. "They sing joyously of the return of the prince, for many of them remember your first attempts to climb into their boughs."
Alandor smiled at his brother. "I look forward to getting reacquainted with them then."
Legolas laughed, a merry sound to behold. "I think that would greatly please them."
And so the better part of the hour passed, elves eating and drinking together in the cheery atmosphere. Aragorn and Gimli sat amongst them, chattering merrily with those around them, and with each other. To Legolas' dismay, they had not been placed at the high table with himself, Alandor and their father, but they were close by and there would be plenty of time to speak with them later. It was an issue of mere formalities, Legolas reasoned, though he had hoped that they would have been given seats of honor at the royal table. He would have to ask his father about it later, for now the time had come when the feasting subsided and the socialization began. Servants began clearing away dishes and minstrels began to make sweet music. Tables and chairs were abandoned as friends walked about seeking out other friends.
Legolas tried to stay by Alandor's side, lest the newly restored prince be overwhelmed by curious elders, but that was a losing battle and soon Legolas had lost his brother to them. He laughed to himself a little and then went in search of his own friends. At first, the blonde prince was surrounded by a group of young elflings and he picked them up and played with them for some time. He was a favorite of the youngsters and they could often persuade him to join their games, for he had a child's heart, despite his reputation of Mirkwood's greatest archer and warrior. And it had been several weeks since he had last been home, which had made the young elves miss him terribly.
After a while, Legolas finally was able to untangle himself from the arms that clutched at him, begging to be lifted up once again, and he made his way back into the thick of the crowd. But before he could reach where Aragorn and Gimli were, he paused to talk to Kyno, for he was eager to hear what progress the remaining wounded were making. Together they drank and spoke, until Thranduil approached them both. He had succeeded in saving Alandor from the expected onslaught of questions and now it was time for another announcement.
The three ascended the dais again and a hush fell back over the rest of the elves from the kingdom.
"My friends," Thranduil began as he had before. "There are yet many more hours of merrymaking ahead of us, but I feel that I must make my announcement now. I call forth Aragorn son of Arathorn and Gimli son of Gloin." The two mentioned stepped forward and stood before the dais. "Look well upon them, for they are traitors to the kingdom! Guards! Seize them!"
Several armed elven guards rushed forward to capture the man and the dwarf. Gimli, they caught easily, but a sudden struggle from the stout dwarf allowed for Aragorn to escape back into the palace, for there was no place else to go to. As he fled, he could just make out Legolas' voice.
"Find him and capture him! Lock down the palace! In three days time, we execute them both!"