Meanwhile, Legolas had gotten into the swing of things in the village that was two weeks hard riding away from Mirkwood. He loved Calrus and Beltha dearly, they were his second parents, but they could never take the place of his first set.

They loved him in return and eventually, Legolas had been cajoled into telling his story. They were horrified when they had heard what had happened to him and his first family and understood his reason for revenge. They all kept their ears out when news of Mirkwood came, which was very infrequently, for Sartarian would let no-one neither into Mirkwood nor out.

Several years had passed since Legolas had come to the village and he helped around the house with Beltha but, his main job was to school the horses and to teach them as all elves had a special affinity with their four- legged friends. Calrus came out one day to watch him at work. To him, it seemed as if the elf and the horse were one with each other and he complimented Legolas on it, or 'Caldran,' as he called him.

"Caldran, you really are a woodland elf," said Calrus, glancing at him, "I have never seen such horsemanship in my entire life and probably won't again.

"SHHH!" said Legolas heatedly, "No- one must know that I am still alive and more importantly, am an elf. That could bring about a lot of unnecessary trouble." Legolas was constantly on his guard against any unsavoury characters and as a result, was learning the art of archery and sword fighting.

No- one in the small village contested his ability with the bow and arrows: he was unmatched even by seasoned warriors. He was also lethal with the broadsword and spent his time practicing.

"Caldran," said Calrus, "someday you will need to come out of the shadow and tell the world who you really are. A son of King Thranduil is not to be taken lightly," he whispered. Legolas tensed against him.

His father hadn't been spoken of for many years and every time his past family was mentioned, a pain gripped his heart and left him tearful. However, constant teasing by the human children of the village had meant that he was able to drop a mask over his features with the greatest of ease and had perfected the art of staring and glaring down any individual who even attempted to harm him or his new family.

However hard he tried though, he could not bring himself to call Calrus and Beltha, 'Ada' or 'Ama,' though he settled for the title of 'Da' and 'Ma,' a kind of nickname for those first two. Legolas knew that he would eventually have to tell the people of the village the truth: far too many were already asking why the 'boy' didn't look as if he had aged the years he had been with Calrus and Beltha.

Legolas stopped what he was doing and Calrus glanced at him questioningly but Legolas shook his head.

"Caldran, what are you doing now?" Caldran said exasperated.

Legolas returned the glance and said, "I am wondering how many years it has been since I have been with you and Ma." He said. Calrus looked at his foster son, who had wormed his way into his heart.

"It has been 20 years." Legolas shook his head in wonderment. 20 years? So long? He surreptitiously looked at Calrus and was surprised to see a tear on his face.

"Da, you know that I will never leave you or Ma until you are both long gone. You both mean so much more to me. I will look after you." Legolas whispered.

Calrus' face cleared and his eyes twinkled with the relief that Caldran wasn't going to leave them since he was know 35 years of age and could easily look after himself. He leaned over to hug Legolas but then a cry was heard.

"CALRUS!" He glanced over his shoulder to see his neighbour run towards them with his eyes streaming with tears. The neighbour caught up with Legolas and Calrus before whispering softly, "I'm sorry Calrus, but Beltha has accidentally fallen and … it is unlikely that she will survive the night."