Chapter 12: A new elfling
"So my son-in-law, is letting Legolas run around naked good fathering in your mind? Because it certainly is not-
"Shut up Landion!" Thranduil snapped, and then covered his mouth. "I did not mean to say that." Thranduil whispered, Legolas' stopping in his tracks when he heard what his father said.
"Ada that's bad. Very bad." Legolas said as Thranduil scooped him up and held him close.
"I know it's bad ion-nin. I should not have said what I said, and I will not again." Thranduil said. 'At least not in front of you.' Thranduil thought as Legolas cuddled close to him.
"Alright, now to get some clothes on you." Thranduil said, reaching over to get a soft tunic for his son to wear to bed. Thranduil slid the soft tunic over Legolas' little head and pulled up some leggings.
"Do I have to go to bed now?" Legolas asked. Thranduil knew Landion was watching over him.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to see Illiendal before bed."
"Alright, fair enough. But in half an hour it's off to bed." Thranduil let his son go. Landion smirked.
"What are you smiling about?" Thranduil asked angrily.
"Softy." Landion threw his head back and laughed. Thranduil glared at him.
"So I am nice to my children. Would you prefer me beating them senseless?" Thranduil stood up and stormed off.
"You couldn't beat them senseless even if you wanted to." Landion said.
"Well I don't want to. I love my children more than anything, and I would never thrash them." Thranduil said entering his study with fists clenched and slamming the door to his study behind him.
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"Hello Legolas." Illiendal smiled as her brother crawled onto her bed. "What brings you here?"
"I wanted to see you before I went to bed. Can I?" Legolas asked. Illiendal pulled him up to her.
"Of course Greenie. You can always come see me."
"When I'm a big elf I wont need to, because I'll be big and strong." Legolas said, getting comfortable in his sister's bed.
"Who knows? Perhaps you will even come to see me then." Illiendal smiled as Legolas looked at her with his big blue eyes.
"Maybe. It would be no-fun not coming to see you." Legolas said.
"Your so sweet Legolas." Illiendal pulled him close to her. Legolas leaned against his sister and made himself comfy again.
"What did you do today?" Legolas asked, hoping for a good story since he was pretty sure he had heard every other story his sister had told him.
"Not much Greenie. Talked with 'Dan and Erestor for a while, then Figwit, saw Cield and then I came here, to read, before you came."
"Oh. What where you going to read?"
"It would not interest you."
"Yes it would!" Legolas jumped over his sister and searched around for her book. When he found it he flipped through the pages.
"...Your right. It's boring." Legolas put the book down and found another comfortable spot.
"...Thanks for letting me stay here with you. And thanks for letting me stay here last night, and the night before that, and the night before that, and the night before that-
"I know that you thank me for every night that I have let you come to stay here, but you would be here for many days if you tried to thank me for each one." Illiendal said, kissing her little brother on his cheek.
"Eewwy. I'm glad you're nice to me though, Cield is not." Legolas said, wiping his cheek.
"What did he do this time?" Illiendal asked.
"He hung me from a tree 'cause I wanted to be with him in his room. You would not do that to me, would you?" Legolas asked. Illiendal took him into her arms.
"I'm not mean enough to do that to you Legolas. You're my baby brother and I love you a lot." Legolas smiled when his sister said that.
"I like it when you spend time with me. It's fun. Tonus is acting strange so he wont play with me, and Cield is mean. But you are really nice to me and I like that. Can I have a hug?" Legolas asked and smiled as his sister squeezed him.
"You can always have a hug."
"Yay!" Legolas smiled, resting his head against his sister's shoulder.
"Tired?" Illiendal asked him.
"N-no..." Legolas yawned and shortly after his eyes where unfocused.
"Goodnight Greenie." Illiendal smiled, laying her brother down on her bed and covering his little body with some warm blankets. She slid in next to him later on, and when Thranduil came in they where both asleep next to each other.
Thranduil (of course, followed by Landion) looked at his sleeping children. He kissed each of them.
"I will let you sleep in here tonight, Greenleaf." Thranduil whispered, looking at his littlest elfling who was curled up on the bed.
"You realize he did not hear you?" Landion asked.
"I realize that..." Thranduil muttered, cursing his father-in-law under his breath.
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"Tonus, you look tensed. And nervous." Cield pointed out. "Is this about the fact that tomorrow night is Gandalf's fireworks and you are worried about carrying me?"
"No... No... It does not concern you." Tonus muttered.
"You want to go somewhere else, don't you?"
"I... Well..."
"Go Tonus. I do not want to keep you here if you have business elsewhere." Cield ordered.
Tonus got his cloak on, which lay on Cield's bed.
'Yes, I can go see Yáviel! I can finally spend a night with her, like a real couple would. I can apologize for never being there for her, and she will finally love me again! She will forgive me!' Tonus thought in joy, and was about to leave Cield's room, but he became face to face with Thranduil, who had been leading a little tired Legolas who had woken up after a nightmare back to his bed, and also had Illiendal behind him, protesting
that Legolas could stay in her bed.
"Tonus, where are you going? It's the middle of the night." Thranduil said, He hoped this conversation would be short as Legolas was falling asleep.
"I'm just going to town ada." Tonus said.
"Not at this hour."
"Yes, I am. Ada I have to!" Tonus said as he walked down the hall, walking quickly so that his father did not catch him.
"Tonus, come back here. Tonus!" Thranduil shouted. When that did not work, he frowned. Tonus was still in view of him and after his wife being attacked whilst taking a walk he would not risk that happening to his eldest child.
"TONUSALION!" Thranduil yelled. Tonus stopped in his tracks.
"W-what did you c-call me?" Tonus turned around. Cield, who had heard his father yell, was still, listening to hear what was going on. Legolas and Illiendal where both wide awake now, wondering what Tonusalion was.
"You have not been called that in years, have you? Have you forgotten what your real name is already? Because I can assure you that I have not forgotten, Tonusalion Veryan Thranduilion." Thranduil said.
"Tonus is not your real name?" Illiendal asked her brother quietly.
"My name is Tonus. The name ada chose for me is Tonusalion Veryan. Do you know how stupid that sounds? Tonusalion Veryan. Tonusalion Veryan. I hate it!"
"Why do you hate it?" Legolas asked.
"I do not want to be called Tonusalion Veryan. As far as I am concerned my name is Tonus."
"Well it's not. When you where born nana and I chose to name you Tonusalion Veryan. But only your grandfather called you that, correct? Your mother called you Tonus and I called you Veryan. After your grandfather's death, you chose to be called Tonus, not Veryan and not Tonusalion. And ever since, you have not been called Tonusalion Veryan. You never let anyone mention your real name in front of your siblings or friends. But I did not forget what your mother and I named you." Thranduil said. Tonus glared at him and stormed off.
"I am not Tonusalion. I am not Veryan. I am Tonus. Tonus!" Tonus stormed out of the palace and left to see his wife, quickly draping a scarf around his neck.
Tonus ran through town. No one was outside to see him as he pushed open the door to his wife's home, except for a little elfling.
The elfling stopped and watched as Tonus' wife jumped him.
"Yàviel!" Tonus knew the elfling was watching him, and for all he knew that elfling could be a spy of his father's, but he doubted that.
"Yàviel get off me." Tonus ordered, forcing his wife away and leaving the house.
"Are you leaving Tonus? I swear if you leave-
"Yàviel I am not leaving. I want to talk to that child. The one who watched you jump on me." Tonus said. Yàviel sighed and nodded.
Tonus walked over to the elfling, who backed away. Every step Tonus took forwards the elfling took backwards, until he tripped.
"Are you alright?" Tonus asked, offering a hand to the elfling, who ignored it and got up on his own, continuing to back away.
"Tonus, he does not want to be near you, cant you see? Perhaps you should leave him be." Yàviel suggested.
"I do not want to hurt you, child. I just want to talk to you. Did you get hurt from your fall?" Tonus asked. The elfling gave no reply, but Tonus saw that the elfling's threadbare cloak had ripped from the fall, and his elbows which had hit the ground where scraped.
"Elfling, do you have a home?" Tonus asked. The elfling kept backing up until he hit a tree, so in defeat he sunk down to sit on the floor. The elfling shook his head.
"Do you have a nana or ada?"
Again, the elfling shook his head no.
"What happened to them?" Tonus asked. The elfling did not answer. Tonus sat down beside the elfling, who tensed.
"I will not hurt you." Tonus muttered. Tonus put a hand on the elfling's cheek and noticed that the little elfling was cold.
"Elfling, how long ago did you eat?" Tonus asked. He got no answer.
"Have you eaten in the past day?" The elfling shook his head no.
"Have you eaten in the past week?" The elfling shook his head no. Tonus carefully picked up the elfling who began to quiver nervously.
"I am taking you into my house, you need food and warmth or you will fade." Tonus said. Yàviel held the door open for Tonus. Tonus put the shaking elfling onto a chair in the kitchen and wrapped him in blankets. Yàviel poured the elfling a glass of water and handed it to him. The elfling looked at it but did not take a sip from it.
"You can drink it, elfling, it is perfectly safe. The lady who gave it to you is my wife, Yàviel, and I am Veryan. We have a son, probably around your age, and we are not going to try and do you any harm. We want to help you." Tonus smiled as the elfling sipped the water slowly.
"I can make you something to eat, if you want. Are you hungry?" Yàviel asked. The elfling nodded his head. Yàviel left to bake, but first pulled Tonus out of the room to talk to him.
"Why did you lie to him about your name?" Yàviel asked, squeezing Tonus' wrist.
"I did not lie to him!"
"Yes you did! Veryan?"
"I lied to you!" Tonus shut his eyes. "My name is not Tonus Thranduilion, it is Tonusalion Veryan Thranduilion. Only my grandfather called me Tonusalion Veryan, and when he died, which is also when I met you, I did not want to be called by that name anymore. That is why I never told you, I am sorry." Tonus said. Yàviel did not answer him, she just left to go cook some food for the elfling.
Tonus decided he could try once again to get the elfling to talk to him.
"Elfling? Would you tell me your name now, please?" Tonus asked, kneeling down to be eyelevel with the elfling, who finally looked ready to talk. The elfling hesitated for a while, but he finally spoke.
"M-my n-name is… Locien… Sir…" The elfling stuttered.
"I'm glad to hear you speak, Locien. So now will you please tell me where are your parents?"
"My… ada was a m-man and he got angry at my n-nana and left us alone and found another lady and had another s-son… my nana was s-sad so we left our home to move to Mirkwood b-but on the way she d-died because she was s-so upset…" Locien said, sniffling.
"Do you have a home?"
"No."
"Would you like a home?" Tonus asked.
"I… j-just some food and drink and somewhere to stay warm… I don't like feeling hungry or… Or being in the cold…" Locien said.
"Well Locien, if you allow it, my wife and I would love to adopt you, as our own son." Tonus said. Yàviel froze and Locien's face lit up.
"I would have a home?"
"Yes."
"I would love to have a home!" Locien smiled for the first time in many years.
"I believe you should take a bath, and then I can find you some new clothes. I will draw you a nice, warm bath." Tonus said, leaving to make his new elfling a bath. Tonus had a feeling that his wife was not too keen on the idea of adopting the little elfling.
Tonus had an awful feeling that what he had planned to be a wonderful evening to make their marriage perfect just made his marriage fail.
To be continued…
Sorry for the long time it took to update. You want to know what FUN thing I did last night? I went to the dentist because at the back of my gum on the top it was swollen, like the size of a gumball (not the giant ones), and so it took like 5 needles, a lot of poking, trying and failing to sew a draining tube thing in the swollen lump and finally cutting a hole in the gum so that it could drain. And since she had been just about to leave when we got there, my dad was her assistant… Owy!
Mistopurr: Fat Gandalf… Hm… YES MARRY HIM! Gandalf-Claus is suppose to be fat! I do not believe in Santa Claus, no, I believe in Gandalf-Claus, and if you are bad you will be getting a visit from Santa-Saruman.
Surf all day and do the hula: Well if you get to push Elrond then I so get to push Celeborn! Sorry Celeb, but we knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
Haldir's Heart and Soul: It's good to be busy about Christmas. A deranged teacher at my school who always wears black and yellow wore red and green! It's so spectacular!
Aranna Undomiel: Yes I like that idea! Aw, no killing? Oh well, better luck next time.
Here comes the hockey puck: I am not getting a horse. My parents wont let me get a dog or a bird or even a hamster or a freaking goldfish so why would they get me a horse?! But yes, I guess my horsie would not fit on the sidewalk or in the shopping mall.
Laer4572: Of course Cield is a dweeb! Aw, I hurt his feelings, now he's crying! I have to go give him a hug. And yes, Legolas was trying to taste the batter.
Karone Evertree: She jumped him! But, his secret is not blown, not yet, now he just has another elfling! Landion is the father of Thranduil's wife... Thranduil's father-in-law!
Lalaithofthebruinen: I hope Cield gets better soon, too. Gandalf rocks my socks. Hehehe don't know why but I felt the need to say that!