Chapter 9: Do not try to murder your father
"I'm back Elrond, sir." Tonus dropped the herbs into Elrond's hands. Florien smiled when he saw his father.
"Elrond is going to bandage me soon ada." Florien began to babble to his father as Elrond prepared the herbs.
Elrond was gentle as he rubbed some herb onto the wounded area of the elfling before he picked up the bandages and began to wrap the elfling's chest. Tonus noticed that his elfling was cringing as the bandages touched him, so Tonus held his hand.
"It will be alright ion-nin." Tonus sighed as Florien's bandages where finally on his son.
"Ai, Florien, you smell awful!" Elrond chuckled.
"No I don't." Florien sniffed his hands. They smelt like dirt and orc poop.
"Elrond is right. You smell like orc droppings!" Tonus smirked.
"I do not!"
"Remember when you ate orc droppings, ion-nin? You mistook it for chocolate and I almost ended up eating some!" Tonus rubbed his son's arm.
"I will wash him afterwards. For now, drink this." Elrond offered the elfling some more tea, and Florien slurped it down, as Elrond had added sweet honey to please the young child.
"Can I have a strawberry?" Florien asked curiously. Tonus shrugged and nodded, handing a strawberry coated in chocolate to his son.
"Don't worry ion-nin, it's not orc poop."
"Ada!" Florien glared at his father before bursting into giggles.
"Finish your strawberry and I will wash you, as best as I can." Elrond wet a cloth and added some pleasant smelling soap.
"Done." Florien licked his lips and was about to get up to be washed when Elrond stopped him.
"You are just an elfling. I do not want you to move to much as I fear you will undo your bandages. I will move you and undress you." Elrond said, but Florien pulled the blankets over his head.
"I want ada to bathe me."
"And I would let your ada bathe you, but your ada would not know how, and he could undo the stitching and it will hurt you. For some reason the stitches are coming undone easily on you." Elrond said, pulling down the blankets.
"B-But I don't want you to see my bum." Florien blushed as Elrond undid the laces on Florien's leggings.
"Ai, Florien, there is not much I can do about that, I need to wash your backside. I have seen many elfling's backsides, including your father's and his siblings." Elrond said as Tonus' face turned pink.
"Really?" Florien looked at his father as Elrond pulled the elfling's leggings down.
"Of course. He has healed plenty of my wounds." Tonus said.
"I have to move you Florien. I want you to stay still." Elrond said. Florien nodded as Elrond slid his hands beneath him. Elrond carefully sat Florien on his lap and began to wash around the stitches.
"Be careful." Tonus said worriedly.
"Don't worry Tonus…" Elrond said, turning Florien over carefully and washing the elfling's backside.
"I don't like this. My bum is showing." Florien stuck out his lower lip as his backside was scrubbed at by Elrond.
"Tonus, go get the elfling some clean clothes." Elrond said.
"You mean by going back to his home?"
"Yes, what else would I mean?" Elrond watched as Tonus left. Elrond finished cleaning the back of Florien and rinsed the child off, dried him and placed him on the bed. Elrond pulled the blankets up to Florien's waist.
"Ada is going to bring clothes?"
"Yes he is little elfling."
"Do I really smell like orc poop?"
"No, you smell like elfling poop."
"Hey!" Florien burst into giggles.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Florien is that you?" Yàviel jumped off her son's bed when she heard the door open, and she ran upstairs to bump into Tonus as he ran downstairs. Yàviel, since Tonus being so strapping was sent backwards and she would have fallen down the stairs if Tonus had not caught her.
"Tonus, my love! How is Florien? Is he alright? Should I come and see him? Will he die? Could they get the glass out? Where is he?"
"Yàviel, Yàviel! Calm down! I brought him to Elrond-
"That means you had to tell him he was your son." Yàviel whispered.
"I did but he promised not to tell anyone. Florien is doing well. He is alright but Elrond just had to re-stitch him. No, do not come and see him, he will be home in a day or so. He will not die. Elrond was able to get the glass out but I was not around to see. He is in Elrond's chambers at the palace." Tonus answered all of his wife's questions before grabbing one of Florien's clean tunics and running up stairs.
"What is that for?"
"Florien needs a change of clothes, Elrond has just washed him."
"I cannot wait for him to come home." Yàviel whispered. Tonus pulled her close to his body and kissed her cheek.
"I will come here tonight, I will keep you company. I have barely been here; I have spent no time with you alone since Florien was born. I miss being with you, I miss having free time to come here… I miss sleeping beside you; I miss everything that a normal married couple does!" Tonus kissed Yàviel again before he opened the door.
"Tonight, after supper, when our Florien is asleep either by Elrond's drugs or by his own tiredness, I will be here." Tonus shut the door behind him and ran back to the palace, slipping the tunic beneath his own to prevent anyone from seeing.
"Here is my son's tunic Lord El…ROHIR!" Tonus backed up when he saw that Elrohir had entered the room whilst he was gone, and still was there.
"So that's who the child is…" Elrohir whispered and screamed when Tonus tackled him to the ground.
"What are you doing here?" Tonus whispered harshly into Elrohir's ear before he was pulled off by Elrond and sent flying across the floor.
"Ada!" Florien whimpered as his father's body slid across the floor and he banged into the door. Tonus stood up, shaking.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. I am truly, truly sorry." Tonus shook his head sadly.
"I forgive you Tonus, I cannot blame you for acting that way." Elrohir sighed, brushing his tunic as Tonus picked up his son's tunic.
"Ada…" Florien was still whimpering, still terrified of when he had saw his father being thrown across the floor.
"Hush. I am here and I am fine, let Elrond dress you." Tonus said, handing Elrond the tunic.
"N-no." Florien had just seen Elrond throw his father across the room, he was not going to let him dress him!
"Florien, I am not going to hurt you." Elrond said.
"Ada. You hurt ada. He is red now." Florien pointed to the back of Tonus' arm, which was red from sliding across the marble floor.
"I wont hurt your ada, either." Elrond said quietly.
"Just let him dress you, ion-nin. Or would you prefer Elrohir to?" Tonus pointed to Elrond's son, who smiled and waved. Elrohir's ears where red from Tonus' attack.
"Rohir."
Elrond gave his son the tunic.
"I'll be careful." Elrohir said quietly, slipping the tunic over the elfling's head and sliding the child into leggings.
"So, now you both know." Tonus muttered angrily.
"I'm sorry." Elrohir sighed.
"Do not blame yourself." Tonus sat down on a chair.
"Alright, I won't."
"But you best blame yourself if you tell ANYONE, because if you do I swear I will hunt you down and ki-
Elrond coughed, and Tonus shut his mouth. Best not say his plans to kill Elrohir in front of Elrond. Save the plans for blackmailing.
Tonus sighed and covered his face with his hands.
'The poor boy, he has lost his mother and he nearly lost his son.' Elrond thought as he looked at the crowned prince. 'I am glad I saved Florien, I am glad Tonus had the courage to tell me about him.'
'Poor Tonus. I'm hungry. O! Lucky me, some strawberries!' Elrohir thought to himself, grabbing a strawberry.
"Hey, t-those are my son's!" Tonus looked up. His eyes were red now; Elrond could tell he had been crying in his hands.
"Sorry." Elrohir was going to put the strawberry back.
"No, just eat it… There are more." Tonus said, looking out the window gloomily.
----------------------------------------------------
"Help… Please…" Legolas whined. "It hurts." Legolas sniffled. Of course it did, as poor Legolas was hung by his ankles on the branch of a tree right outside Cield's window.
"Cut your whining Legolas or I will shoot this book at you!' Cield yelled from the balcony as he read silently.
"Cield, this is not funny! Get me down, what if I fall?"
"Then, you will learn your lesson and you will not intrude in my room again!" Cield snorted, throwing a pebble at his little brother's rear.
"Ow! Cield!"
"Shut up, Greenleaf."
"Shut up, eh? Well you would be making just as much noise if I hung you on a tree by your earlobes, and by Vala I will!" Thranduil was glaring at Cield. Cield dropped his book.
"A-ada… It w-was just a j-joke!" Cield stood up and backed away to the edge of his balcony. Thranduil reached out and grabbed Cield by his ear, but by the tip of his pointed ear and Cield shrieked in pain.
"Let go!"
"Shut up Cield." Thranduil glared at his son as Cield began to whimper. Thranduil gave his son's ear a final tug before releasing his ear, but Thranduil cornered Cield anyways.
"Ada… Help…" Legolas whined.
"One minute little green leaf." Thranduil crossed his arms and looked down at Cield, who just looked up at Thranduil in utter horror.
"I'm sorry." Cield whispered.
"I will deal with you after." Thranduil said, jumping onto the edge of the balcony and reaching over to Legolas. Thranduil was barely on the edge of the balcony and could easily fall. Cield looked at his father's poor balance.
'Why did nana die? Ada should have. Nana never punished me, she always left ada to punish me. If nana had lived and ada had died, I would not get in trouble for this. I hate ada!' Cield thought, then Cield did the most naïve thing he had ever done in his life.
Cield raised his hand and shoved his father off the balcony. Thranduil gasped and fell. Legolas screamed and Cield fell to the ground, shaking.
"I… I… ADA!" Cield burst into tears. "I don't want you dead ada. I did not mean to hurt you. Don't be dead ada, please!" Cield looked down. No ada.
"Ada? ADA!" Cield yelled. He could not see his father anywhere, not even a body.
"You called?" Cield turned around and whimpered when he saw his father standing there, scraped badly.
"How did you get here?"
"While you where whimpered, I had climbed up here." Thranduil said. "I had landed on my side, luckily I did not break anything as I also landed on some leaves on grass, and I threw out my hands to break my fall, but that broke my thumb." Thranduil had one fist clenched, the one with no broken thumb.
"I cannot believe I did that." Cield whispered.
"Well you did. And if you think that would get you out of trouble, it most certainly did not."
"I know ada."
"Go inside, in your room. Once I get your brother down and calm him, I will come and have a talk with you, a long talk." Thranduil said.
"Yes ada." Cield turned and left.
"Ada don't get me if you will fall again, I can live up here if you wish." Legolas said. His face was red.
"No ion-nin, I will not fall again." Thranduil jumped up into the tree and untied Legolas' ankles and took him into his arms before he jumped back onto Cield's balcony. Legolas held his father tightly.
"Are you hurt, Legolas?"
"No."
"Then be a good boy and play with Elladan, I have to talk with your brother."
"Okay." Legolas left.
Thranduil entered Cield's room. Cield's face was covered with tears.
"Ada, I do not know why I did that!" Cield wiped his nose on his sleeve sadly.
"You do not know why you tried to kill me?" Thranduil glared at his son.
"I-
"I did not raise a murderer Cield." Thranduil sat on his son's bed.
"I am so sorry."
"I know you are Cield. Do you realize that if I where not your father, and if I did not love you so much I would have the right to flog you for trying to murder me?"
"I-I know ada… But I b-beg of you not t-to…" Cield was now shaking, so Thranduil put a hand on his shoulder.
"I am not going to Cield, although I should have you arrested and flogged for trying to murder your kin and more importantly for trying to murder the king, I would not… You are my son after all and even though you wanted me dead I will not have you punished in such away…"
"Thank-you father." Cield whispered, relieved slightly.
"I will be punishing you; do not think I am just going to let this slide."
"I know father, I am just grateful that you will not use a rod… Or a whip, for that matter… You would not use a whip, would you ada?"
"No! I will not use a weapon like those! Give me time Cield, to choose what to do to you." Thranduil said.
"Y-you will not do what you should, as king, will you? You will not… Torture me or imprison me… Banish me or execute me, will you?"
"Cield, for the final time, you are my son and I would die before those things happen to you." Thranduil pulled Cield close to him.
"I don't know why I wanted to kill you! I don't want you dead! I love you and I need you!" Cield sobbed on his father's chest.
"Calm yourself Cield, I'm here and you did not kill me… Stay in your room, I will be back later to speak to you about your punishment." Thranduil kissed Cield's cheek before standing up and leaving to clean his scrapes.
To be continued…
Ah, Cield and his mood swings and how easily he listens to the little devil inside of him… the title of this chapter is more or less the moral of the chapter and the 'Warning: Do not try this at home/do not do this without parental supervision'...
What should Thranduil do to punish Cield? I need suggestions!
Karone Evertree: I had thought of doing that at one point, but I forgot. Thanks for saying that, it shall happen eventually.
Surf all day and do the hula: I'm watching my right sock right now... Waiting... He's going to do something any second now... Oh I better just look up and check my watch... Oh darn it my right sock just ran off when I looked at the time! 6:23 pm, Socky number 2 (codename 'Righty-o') ran away...
Haldir's Heart and Soul: Yes, but poor Cield wont be! I have cruel reviewers, or at least, some on them are. You know who you are, evil, twisted, cruel reviewers!
LalaithoftheBruinen: It will be lots of fun for me to write about Thranduil finding out, I already have plans. Florien will be around 14 mortal years old at the time, almost 15.
Laer4572: I could not let Thranduil find out just at chapter 8! I hope to have 100 chapters of this! I like 100. It's a big number!
Here comes the hockey puck: Ah yes, 'Christmas Exams'. The cruel name they give them, as if they are giving you exams for christmas! Evil teachers, thinking we had 'exams' on our christmas lists!
Aranna Undomiel: Poor little Florien, although, never having stitches myself mind you, I doubt they even use sedation when they stitch you up. But come on, Florien's just a toddler, he deserves some drugs and sedation to numb the pain down to nothing!