Chapter 146: Private Elf-To-Elf talk
Orophin stayed quiet and looked at a piece of paper that had fallen from Legolas' pocket.
"What's this?" Orophin picked up the parchment and looked and the drawings carefully.
"Hey that's MINE!" Legolas tried to grab it up Orophin held it too high.
"Who drew this?" Orophin asked.
"Cield! Give it back!" Legolas began to jump in hope to grab it.
"Orophin, give it back to him. What is it, anyways?" Haldir asked. Rumil grabbed the paper, hoping he could pull it out from Orophin's hands. That's how it ripped in two, and Legolas began to cry quietly.
"What's wrong, elfling? How important was the paper?" Haldir sat beside Legolas as he watched the elfling take the paper's pieces into his hands and surveying them.
"Cield drew the pictures and... I... promised him I'd take good care of it... and so he let me keep it... but now I cant give it back... It's ruined!" Legolas sniffed, showing Haldir the pieces.
Haldir looked at the paper. Cield had drawn his family, and it was clearly recent. Cield had drawn Legolas, Illiendal, Tonus, Thranduil and their deceased mother Aldaril on the parchment with many details, and in the lower corner there was an incomplete sketch of Firelien. The page had been torn down the middle, and it split the page so that Illiendal, Cield and Thranduil where on one half and Firelien, Tonus, Legolas and Aldaril where on the other.
"Your sister is... appealing." Haldir put a finger on Legolas' sister.
"She is."
"Is she married?" Haldir asked quietly.
"No. She's not old enough yet, says ada." Legolas made an odd gurgling noise.
"O." Haldir moved his finger and Rumil smiled.
"Haldir you are far too old for any child of Thranduil, you are old enough to have married Thranduil's wife – or even Thranduil, if you fancy male elves." Rumil sniggered.
"Yes Haldir, don't start getting ideas, she's still an elfling."
"No. She's as old as Elladan, he's her friend." Legolas commented.
"How much of a friend?"
"A lot. Ada doesn't like to leave them alone, but he never says why."
Haldir tried to think of something that would change the subject, but his brothers where quite amused with the current subject.
"Although nana and ada always SAY you will be married and have little elflings and the perfect family but... You have to really remember that for work you are gone from six in the morning to eleven at night and rarely come home for lunch during the day that leaves about... six hours together since it takes a half hour to get to and from work, and you'd be asleep for the most of it..." Orophin stated.
"True." Haldir sighed.
"Are we baking a cake, or shall we just speak of my boy's job and love life for the remainder of the time?" Mallriel asked her sons.
"Sorry nana." Haldir shrugged, gathering some ingredients for the cake.
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Elladan and Illiendal were alone outside. Elrohir had left to get some drinks.
"So..." Elladan muttered quietly.
"Does your leg still pain you?" Illiendal asked, looking up at the twin.
"No." Elladan's grey eyes showed how much pain he was in, though.
"I'm back." Elrohir smiled, sitting down on the floor beside the princess and handing his twin and the she-elf a drink.
"This is disgusting, what did you stick in here?" Elladan smelt the drink in his hands.
"It's just orange juice, like you asked!" Elrohir sniggered as his brother tried to take another sip but spat it out.
"Let me see that, Dan." Illiendal took his glass and sipped a bit of the so-called juice.
"You added my father's wine in it!" Illiendal said, throwing the drink onto him.
"Hey! I juiced that with my own two hands." Elrohir laughed. Elladan put a hand on Illiendal's shoulder.
"How long do you figure I'll be handicap?" Elladan grinned.
"Clearly a while, my brother hurt you well."
"Will you take care of me?" Elladan smirked happily.
"I shall." Illiendal pat Elladan on his head, and the half-elf took her hand and kissed it.
"Elladan!"
"What?" Elladan asked quietly.
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Thranduil shut his eyes as he watched the twins and his daughter from the window of the palace.
Thranduil held a bottle of wine tightly and drank some more as he watched the elves fool around.
"You are growing up Illiendal. Now I have no one. Tonus is too old, he does not need me to help him, Cield has his family, Legolas has left and now you Illiendal... You and Elladan, I bet you will marry him." Thranduil shut his eyes and banged his head on the wall.
"Legolas... Ai, green leaf."
Thranduil looked at his daughter who now was cuddled up beside Elladan.
"Legolas, oh I pray you do not suffer, wherever you may be. You will never see whom your sister marries; you will never be an uncle to Cield's children or your sister's... Ai, I cannot do this! I will not go on without you Legolas!" Thranduil threw the bottle onto the marble floor of the palace and watched as the contents spilled everywhere.
"Ada, what is it?" Tonus asked, looking at the broken shards of glass and wine on the floor.
"I have lost too many, Tonus, I lost my father and my mate, I will not loose my youngest child!" Thranduil snatched his cloak and weapons.
"Where are you going?" Tonus asked as Thranduil threw his crown at Tonus.
"Rule Mirkwood. I do not know where I will go, to Lorien perhaps. If I do not find Legolas along the way I will hunt Haldir down and if he does not havbe Legolas he better have an elfling for me or I swear I will murder that elf-
"Ada! He did nothing! Go and search for Legolas but don't kill him!" Tonus snapped. Thranduil glared at Tonus.
"Do not speak to me in such a way." Thranduil clenched his fists, turned around and stormed outside.
"Ada!" Tonus ran after his father.
"What do you want?" Thranduil snarled.
"I-I just wanted to wish you good luck and too say good bye and... And... Apologize." Tonus shut his eyes and felt arms wrap around him.
"I love you Tonus. I accept your apology. I have to go now Tonus, one day when you are a father and your child goes missing, you will know how I feel right now." Thranduil kissed his son on his cheek before turning to leave.
"Tonus!" Thranduil had a smile on his face.
"What, ada?" Tonus smiled curiously.
"I just realized it! Florien, I've always said he looks familiar, but now I realise it! He looks like you! Strange coincidence, is it not?" Thranduil smiled, the colour draining from Tonus' face.
"Yes... strange coincidence indeed..." Tonus muttered as his father left to find Legolas. Tonus looked at his father's crown in his hands and placed it carefully on top of his blonde hair, removing the golden circlet from his head.
"Alright, I am in charge now." Tonus smiled to himself, going to tell Illiendal.
"Illiendal!" Tonus said softly. Illiendal raised her head from Elladan's shoulder and looked at her elder brother.
"Why are you wearing Ada's crown on your head? He will not be pleased." Illiendal stated.
"Ada left to go find Legolas, he says he will go as far as Lorien if he must, and he has left me in charge of Mirkwood!" Tonus said.
"Now Tonus, you realise that your father was clearly drunk when he said that so maybe it would be best if you just handed the crown over to an advisor and let him handle it." Elladan smirked.
"My father was drinking before he left but he was certainly not tipsy!" Tonus glared at the injured half-elf and gently kicked him.
"Hey!" Elladan laughed.
"You three hungry?" Tonus asked.
"A snack would do us some good." Elrohir suggested.
"A snack it is. I will go have the chefs make some food that we can all eat out here." Tonus said, leaving and returning shortly with a tray of crackers and cheese.
Tonus sat on the ground and crossed his legs. The three elves surrounding him took cheese and crackers.
"So Ton, what do you plan to do tomorrow?"Elrohir paused, waiting for a reply, and when re received none he continued with "Will you be visiting your s-
Tonus grabbed Elrohir and pulled him off into the corner.
"Don't!" Tonus snapped.
"What? I just wanted to ask if you would be visiting your son!"
"Illiendal and your brother have no idea that I have a son! And I DON'T want them knowing, understand? It is nice that you found out of my secret but they cannot know!"
"Oops..." Elrohir shut his eyes, fearing the worse reaction possible from the prince.
"Oops what?" Tonus was clutching Elrohir's shoulders tightly and Elrohir was wincing at the pain the muscular prince caused him by doing so.
"I told... I told... Please let go!" Elrohir whimpered, being so much smaller than the prince. Tonus' grip loosened but he did not fully release Elrohir.
"Elladan." Elrohir winced.
"He told no one, correct?"
"He told Erestor."
"He told no one, correct?"
"He told Glorfindel."
"And then who did Glorfindel tell?" Tonus now had his hands around Elrohir's neck and the longer Elrohir took to speak the tighter his grip became.
"N-no o-one!" Elrohir gasped as Tonus released his neck.
The two returned to the gardens, where Illiendal and Elladan waited, cuddled up.
"What was that about?" Illiendal asked, noticing the red marks on Elrohir's neck that the half-elf was trying the hide.
"Nothing, just a private talk, elf to elf." Elrohir said. Elladan knew what it was about, though.
To be continued...