The whole wood knew now. They all knew the prince was fading of a broken heart. Most of them knew—or thought they knew—her name, too. Alyeni. My dearest friend was dying because he missed me. And still my father wouldn't budge.

So, for better or worse, I stood before King Thranduil now, seeing Leaf beside him, a shadow of himself. Recognition had shown in the King's eyes for an instant, leaving me uncertain if that was a good thing, but he lifted a hand for silence before I could decide. "You have brought your father before me to what end?"

"I wish to be declared free from his rule," I stated quietly. Leaf's eyes lifted to mine for a moment, a faint spark of life showing in his eyes for an instant.

"It is the duty of a son to follow his father's orders," King Thranduil murmured with a faint frown. "Why do you think you should be exempt from this?"

"If his orders were just, I would not, sire."

"Your highness, if I may—"

King Thranduil held up his hand, silencing my father. "I hear his side first. Then, if you have anything to say, you can say it." He looked back at me, and nodded.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to try and gather my thoughts. "Your son follows your orders because they are good, and just. If, however, you ordered him to find a nest of spiders, and kill one, sending him out with no weapon into the dark, who would be at fault for his death? Your son, for following orders without question? Or you, for giving him a dangerous order?"

"In such a case, I would be at fault," King Thranduil stated quietly. "Your claim is along these lines?"

"Worse, in a way, because it is no longer merely my life over which he has control. In his silence he has condemned one elf to possible death." My tongue tripped over possible, nearly saying probable, but somehow I still couldn't believe it, though Leaf had begun to fade before my eyes.

My father exploded at this, but two guards and a stern glare from the king later, he was silent again. King Thranduil turned back to me. "This is a grave accusation. Have you any proof of your claim?"

"I have… but perhaps first I should explain something of my past." King Thranduil nodded thoughtfully after a moment, motioning for me to go on. "My mother bore two children before she died. My father doted upon his eldest, his dear son. On an outing with my brother and mother, we were attacked by orcs. I watched my mother die, my brother die, and I saw the orc lift his blade over his head to send me with them. My father stopped him, and our family was buried. The following day I was sent into the wood to play like a good lad, and he would never hear anything against what he was doing—making me into his only son."

"Hardly sounds like a problem," King Thranduil stated cautiously, glancing at Leaf, who had started when I said I had nearly been killed as well—he had assumed, since I had never said otherwise, that I had been elsewhere during the attack.

I sighed. "Except that ever since Lyran died, my mother's daughter has been forced to become my father's son." Before that could sink in I pushed back the hood of my cloak, crossing my arms over my chest in a gesture half meant to defend me against the world, and partially meant to show that I was, in fact, female. Unable to meet anyone's gaze, I stared at the floor. The stunned silence went on so long I finally looked up at the King, resolutely looking nowhere else. "For over a thousand years I have worked for myself, cleaned for myself. I have as good as been a male elf—there is no reason to believe I cannot continue to care for myself when he goes west."

One of King Thranduil's brows lifted. "How old were you when he began this… farce?"

"Eight. Nearly nine."

"Hundred?"

I shook my head. "Years."

Silence fell again. King Thranduil looked at my father. "Now. Have you anything to say?" His voice had gone noticeably hard and cold.

"Only that I can do whatever I wish with my son."

I couldn't stand it any longer. The wood knew, so couldn't I finally say it? "Your son died! And you did your best to bury your daughter with him."

Pure hatred blazed in his eyes as he came towards me. "I should never have stopped that orc," he snarled, before striking me across the face.

The guards held him before he could move again, so I let out a sigh and looked up at the throne. "Sire?" I asked softly, wishing only to run back to my flet to curl up in a ball even as I kept myself resolutely steady on my feet as if the blow had been nothing… and if it weren't for the remaining wounds on my cheek from his last attack, it would have been light punishment when compared to other times. The looks I had feared—derisive, condemning—were on the faces of all… except the King and Leaf. Poor Leaf looked like he'd stepped out onto solid ground only to have it dissolve beneath his feet.

King Thranduil frowned slightly. "Have you any other family?"

"As far as I am aware my father broke all ties when he brought Mother to Mirkwood."

"And you do not fear for attracting male company without a protective relation?"

"I have been that relation, sire," I murmured quietly. "I've made the weapons they use, and I've learned their use over the last two thousand years." I snorted and shook my head. "As for attracting attention—only as a freak. Never anything else."

King Thranduil studied me much as he had once before, and slowly smiled. "You are a remarkable elf. Will this action free the life of the other elf you spoke of?"

"It is for that hope I have come," I answered, bowing my head slightly to avoid the growing look of betrayal in Leaf's eyes.

The King nodded slightly. "You have been successful in your plea. You are hereby allowed to stay or leave as you wish."

"Thank you, sire."

"As for your father… He shall be accompanied west so I am certain he goes—and soon. I do not desire such an elf in my realm a moment longer than utterly necessary."

I nodded slightly, and with a wave of his hand, was released. When my eyes found Leaf, he was glaring at the floor before him, unwilling to look at me. With a heavy sigh I gathered my wits about me, pulled my hood up, and walked out with all the confidence I could muster from centuries of being a male elf instead of a nameless she-elf. Once I was far enough from the gate, I ran.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alyeni is free! … But Leaf sure didn't seem too thrilled. Argh. I wince just thinking what's going through his head. I don't really mind that, though. It's kinda cool to get this attached to characters.

Queenieb: Obviously, I agree she had to go before the King. As for getting her act together… not quite yet, huh?

Liomi: Sorry, no swift kick, but he has been exiled from Mirkwood. Close enough?

Lindaleriel: I can completely understand—I realize the first chapters were a bit bland, but I didn't want to dive right into everything at once. Unlike my other female characters(and several of the male ones too), I have never felt the urge to wring her neck. I think it's because I'm writing from her view, which almost makes her into me… or me into her? Either way, if I start thinking like that, something would be seriously screwed up.

Michelle: Um… not quite the happily-ever-after bit you were hoping for.

Farflung: Okay, the 'someone' was Wind, when s/he came across him 'plotting' against the king. Alyeni/Wind had already ran away at that point, and in fact a few days had passed since then. So, Leaf was fading when Wind attacked him, which could very well explain how s/he was able to get the sword away from Leaf—whom I think everyone considers a fairly adept warrior… which could be why he was somewhat ashamed of being disarmed. Do you know any of the studies for that female vrs male stuff? It would make an interesting read, I think. Better than the GABA receptor stuff I'm reading for class right now… er… sure I'm reading it now ;). Yeah, I kind of liked watching Joy snap. So unlike his nick-name, or his usual role. I actually started writing this story from their first day together in the wood, so I may have to find somewhere to shove that back in later. I know, the dualism is annoying to type, but it works fairly well in the mind… or at least in mine. Maybe I'm just weird. As for knuckling under… she appears to the world as male, but both she and her father know she's female. Maybe it's a bit old-fashioned and out of normal views of whatever time the war of the rings is generally considered set in, but I kind of see it (at least for this story) as a time when the male of the house has a protective/possessive role towards the females. Her father is willing to use her sex to force her to do what he wants, using the control her being female gives him over her. The outside world, unknowing of the truth, would see him as a bit over protective, and Tyran as a bit shy/subdued? I can't think up the right word at the moment. Submissive perhaps? Well, anyway, she has been so controlled by him for so long, with the threat of more pain she simply buckled to his command, though she didn't like it. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have ever done anything to get away from him, or at least not so quickly and drastically, if it weren't for Leaf's predicament. Okay, showing my age here… what is squeeing? About reviews… yeah, I'm paranoid. I know not everyone reviews, but when no one does it seems like no one is reading, and if that's so, I'd rather not waste the space. But truly, this story has been getting the best reviews of all my stories. Wow. Long response. Of course, it was a long review. :)

Iluvien: Okay, foot down, father thrown out, but Leaf's not exactly sweeping her off her feet. After all, I think he has a right to be a wee bit miffed right now.

Lady Jade: 'A swift kick somewhere unpleasant on a cold, dark night in an alley somewhere'? The image made me laugh, and wonder who could do it. Leaf? Joy? How about Tara? LOL. But of course, Wind/Alyeni couldn't just run to Leaf, because she's still sort of denying what she feels about him, and is at least intelligent enough to know that he would eventually figure out who she is/was. If he didn't, the guilt would probably eat her alive for deceiving him.

Amused: I only take offense to really bad flames. I haven't got any yet. So who knows, maybe not even then. Alright, one thing I admit to apparently not portraying very well is the timeline. I usually include a line or two when I think it's necessary, but I guess it's too subtle. The festival was a month long, and Alyeni ran from Leaf only a few days before it ended. So, she basically spent a month solely in his company, though occasionally they both had to be elsewhere (as their 'alter-egos') for a while. Reading about things on a day to day basis can be even more tedious than writing it would be, so I skipped forward a bit to the point where she runs away. In elven lives, a month could be considered extremely short, I realize, but Leaf found himself knowing her so well even after their first meeting… well, who can speak for the heart? Eh, besides, Arwen fell in love with Aragorn in one night. Okay, sorry, movie moment came over me there. Just looked it up, and apparently Aragorn fell in love with her in one night, and she didn't fall in love with him until their second meeting some twenty-odd years later. Still, two meetings. Leaf and Alyeni had more than that. As for not noticing the similarity… he has… he just never would have ever dreamed that his long-time male friend could be his newly-met female interest. So, they've both got a nice case of denial. Isn't that lovely?