Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday and enjoying whatever time off you may get. Here is chapter 7. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who has left me reviews. I try to thank most people personally, but I can't always do that, especially as some people (probably very sensibly) withhold their email addresses. I just want to say how wonderful it is that like my characters as much as I do and how grateful I am for all your comments, even the more critical ones.
Unfortunately the next chapter may be even slower in coming as I've got major exams coming up, so if you don't here from me in a while, I'm probably up to my eyeballs in books and paper!
Thanks once again to Maria and Khazar for their continuing help and motivation!
Please feel free to R&R when you've finished reading. Take care,
Emma x
Up The Garden Path
Legolas had been dreaming of long-forgotten memories from his childhood and memories of not so long ago when his attention was taken by the sudden rocking of his bed. Legolas blinked rapidly several times, his opened eyes coming to focus on the world around him. His eyes narrowed as he saw the cause of the interruption to his rest. The heavy drapes that surrounded his bed had been pulled back on one side and there was an elf on his feather mattress. More precisely, Thalion was merrily bouncing up and down, grinning at him like a maniac and quite determined to rouse his brother.
"Good morning, Tithintor [Little Brother]!" Thalion said brightly, "And how are we feeling this morning?"
"Thalion," he said, annoyance already present in his tone, "why are you here?" Legolas saw his brother's smile widen and knew that he was in for trouble.
"Well now, little brother, I have come to offer my services." Thalion noticed his brother's confusion. "Your impending marriage to Eldirn."
"Do not be ridiculous," Legolas scoffed, rolling over to hide his smile at the thought of Eldirn.
Thalion pulled him onto his back by the shoulder and raised his eyebrow. "I saw you last night. I actually saw you smile, a real smile, not like the ones you give ellith like Galuwen. And we saw you laugh," Thalion added as a final accusation.
Legolas' brow furrowed as he thought to himself. How did he feel about the night before?
Thalion sat there patiently. He was not going to go away without an answer that would at least satisfy his and Eiliant's curiosity. They had discussed the matter over breakfast that morning like a pair of seasoned gossips, and both of them had almost settled on Legolas marrying Eldirn when they remembered that neither of them had actually spoken to Legolas about how he felt. Thalion had drained his glass of water and smirked at his wife, then left their flet and walked off in the direction of his brother's. He found it silent except the sound of breathing interspersed with contented sighs, and that was when he decided Legolas needed to start the day.
The continuing silence caused Thalion's eyebrow to rise higher. "Legolas, I am your brother. If you cannot talk to me about this, who can you talk to?" He left a momentary pause so Legolas could think about that. Trying to draw the information out of his brother, he said, "She is pretty, I suppose, but nothing compared to my Eiliant. And her dress was rather plain, do you not think?"
"Plain or not, she still looked beautiful," Legolas retorted before his head could stop his mouth.
Thalion gave Legolas a triumphant smile. "So she is beautiful. I see. And when you spoke to her?"
Legolas knew he could not hold back his feeling from his brother any longer. A small smile crept across his face and a blush spread to his cheeks.
"She was beautiful then, too. She does not see me as all the others do. To her I am just someone she knew once when we were young. To elves like Galuwen, I am their way into royal blood, for the advancement of themselves and their family. Eldirn quite happily teases me at every opportunity and laughs, whereas Galuwen would simply try and worm her way into my favour."
The flush on Legolas' cheeks had deepened and he rolled away from his brother's gaze, which had so suddenly turned serious.
There was a silence between the brothers as they both considered what Legolas had just said. Thalion sat, silently singing with joy that his brother was falling in love, even if he did not know it yet. Legolas lay with his back turned to Thalion, still thinking about how he felt about Eldirn; but each time he tried to consider it seriously, all he could think of were the soft touches of her fingers on his face when she examined him, and how she genuinely cared.
Thalion decided he should break the silence. "It is a couple of hours past dawn, Legolas. Why are you not with Adar?"
"He gave me a morning's leave."
"How generous," Thalion said, surprised his father would be so lenient after such a short time. "Why?"
"I am taking Eldirn on a walk through the Royal Gardens."
"And Adar was quite happy to let you do this?" Thalion really was incredulous now.
"It was his suggestion." Legolas said smugly and finally sat up in bed. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some organisation to do and a walk with Eldirn to attend to." Thalion gave no sign of moving. "Go gossip with Eiliant! I know you want to. You are as bad as she is!" Legolas used his legs under the covers to push Thalion off the bed, and then pointed to the door. Thalion left without protest, leaving Legolas alone to start his day in relative peace.
Legolas washed and dressed, taking more care than usual in the way he was clothed. After a swift breakfast, he went to the kitchens in search of one of the cooks that had always had a soft spot for him. He had spent a lot of his childhood persuading her to give him cakes and sweet things for him and his friends to take out into the forest together, and even after he came of age she would still slip him a slice or two of cake when he asked for it. But persuading her to let him steal enough food for two would be a different matter. However, after a lot of pleading and innocent looks, Legolas managed to secure what he was after.
After the kitchen he sought out his servant, Emlin [Little Bird], an ellon who had served him since infancy, and issued him a string of rapid, verbal instructions. They were all to be carried out at precise times. Anyone listening in would have thought Legolas was planning a military operation for his father rather than a morning with a young, female elf. Having made poor Emlin repeat back his list of tasks, Legolas gave him a short thanks. After checking his appearance in the nearest fountain, he dashed into the forest.
As he walked quickly through the trees, Legolas felt a mix of two very strong emotions. On the one hand, he was excited to be seeing Eldirn again after spending such a short, but enjoyable time with her the night before. He had spent his rest in the dark-hours dreaming about her, thinking about the things they did together as children. They had always managed to get into trouble, even when on their best behaviour. The more he thought about those times, the more Legolas realised how happy they had made him.
On the other hand, Legolas was nervous - so nervous that he could almost perceive his hand shaking and his stomach tying itself into knots. Where were his courage and his pride? Why should he be afraid to see Eldirn? What strange new sensation was this that gave him both pleasure and pain at the thought of this one elleth who he had known for so long?
Legolas was given no further time to dwell on these thoughts. In front of him loomed the old and gnarled tree that served as a signpost. Legolas looked at it, walking round the branches, looking for something that would send him in the right direction. Without resorting to the technique of walking in a circle until something hit him on the face, Legolas saw Haedron's name written carefully into the dying wood of the tree and followed the indicated path.
It was a short distance to Eldirn's home, Legolas knew, but he could not help slowing down his pace to take in the surroundings and commit them to memory for the future. Two lilac trees, so heavy with purple blossoms that their branches bowed under the weight, formed an arch over the path. As Legolas stepped through it he saw the little house and Eldirn sitting on a bench outside, her head in a book. She had not heard him approach, or at least gave no sign of it, and it allowed Legolas a precious few moments just to look at her completely undisturbed or influenced by anything.
He could not quite see the title of the book, but it looked to be something serious, a work of intelligence, not just a whimsical storybook. Her hair fell about her face and she kept absentmindedly trying to push it back behind her ear as she read. All was silent, except for the creasing of the parchment as she turned the pages. Legolas watched as her brows contracted in concentration and took a few steps closer to her, completely out of the cover of the trees.
A bird took off loudly from the branches just above where he stood. The sound was enough to break into Eldirn's thoughts and she looked up to see him standing there. Eldirn snapped the book shut, so Legolas could still not see the title, and held it tight to her chest, wrapping her arms around the heavy volume.
"Suilad, Legolas. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about our walk, or that you lost your way." She smiled sweetly at him and stood up.
"Eldirn, how could I forget about you? And how could I get lost? All I have to do is walk in a circle around that tree until something hits me about here." Legolas pointed jovially to a spot on his cheek, just below his left eye.
Eldirn looked down at the ground, "How is your face?" She raised her eyes again to meet his and then searched his cheek for signs of injury.
Legolas smirked slightly. "Come and have a look. You can even poke it if you like."
Eldirn narrowed her eyes slightly as he made fun of her concern. She took a few steps closer towards him and concentrated on the corner of his eye. There was no mark at all, except one incredibly small scratch where a splinter could have snagged on his skin. No one else would have seen it, except one who knew what to look for.
"Well, you seem to be fine," she said matter-of-factly, finishing her examination. She curled her hand back against her chest as if his skin had burnt it. "I am terribly sorry, you know? I should have warned you about the branches."
Legolas smiled and reached out to touch the back of her hand with the tips of his three middle fingers, silently telling her she had no reason to be apologising. Eldirn gave him a wavering smile, and turned on her heels to go back into the house. Legolas followed slowly behind her as she half ran into the building. He leant against the doorframe as he heard her trip over something and then knock another thing over. He called out, asking if she needed any help, but the answer back was a simple negative.
Eldirn was in what her mother called "a flap". When something in her perfectly ordered world went awry, Eldirn panicked, got cross and, finally, embarrassed by her ineptitude. Eldirn panicked when her left boot was not with the right. It was later found wedged under her bed. She got cross when she found her light summer cloak gone from her dressing room. Apparently, her mother had thought it helpful to move it to the stand by the door and not inform her daughter. And finally, she was embarrassed when she heard Legolas call to offer his assistance, and at the wide grin on his face when she finally emerged, red-faced and flustered.
"I did not know a lady used such words. Where did you learn such coarse language?" He asked with mock disgust.
"I believe I learnt them from you, Legolas Greenleaf. Now shall we be going?" Eldirn tried to maintain her normal demeanour, but inwardly she cursed again. She had thought she had only spoken those words silently in her head, but obviously not.
"As you wish, my lady," Legolas said.
Legolas wanted to take her hand and lead her along the path, but she stood just out of his reach. Whether that was deliberate on her part he could not say, but for a while the thought of her body pressed as close to his as it had been on their walk home the night before was all he could think of. They reached the old tree and Legolas realised that they had been walking in silence for sometime together, each wrapped in their own thoughts.
As they switched paths, Legolas asked abruptly, "What were you reading?"
"Pardon?" She said, having been utterly distracted by something else.
"I asked what you were reading."
"Oh," she said in a non-committal voice. "It was nothing really."
"It looked heavy and complicated," Legolas said, probing.
"It is just a book a friend lent me on healing, that is all." Eldirn would not meet his eyes as she said this and her tone was cold and final. Legolas noted the fact and changed the subject.
"I am reading the story of Gondolin."
"Still? Legolas, you really should get help with your reading if it has taken you all this time to get through it. You have been reading it since you were, what, ten years old?" The other Eldirn had returned, the cheeky one, the one who teased him. The quiet Eldirn seemed to have left for a while.
Legolas put on a haughty air. "I would have you know that I am quite capable of reading very well indeed, thank you. I just happen to like that book, that is all."
"I never understood why you like that story so much, all the death and blood and suffering," Eldirn said curiously.
"They are so brave, the elves," Legolas said simply, but by the look on Eldirn's face he knew she wanted more of an explanation. "Some day I wish that I could be counted amongst the brave, have stories written about me and songs sung by the firelight at festivals."
"You do not want much, then, do you?" Eldirn smiled. "But how will you cope with all the attention it would bring you? Is Galuwen not enough for you? You would have every ellith this side of the Great Sea clamouring for your affection."
Legolas looked at her, studying her face as she laughed gently. The light was twinkling in her eyes again and her lips were drawn into a wide smile.
"I met Glorfindel in Rivendell," Legolas said to try and stop her laughing.
Eldirn did, knowing the elf had been his hero after the first reading of the story of Gondolin. She cocked her head to one side and asked, "What was he like?"
It was Legolas' turn to have fun at her expense. "Just as I had imagined him."
Eldirn stopped, irritated by his lack of detail. Legolas laughed to himself and reached out to take her arm into his, "Come, we are nearly here."
Eldirn jumped as he tried to take her arm. She would not take it, she could not. Being that close to his body would bring back the memories of their walk home together the previous night. He had pulled her along by the hand as they left the festival and she remembered with longing the disappointment when he took his hand away from hers and placed it in the crook of his elbow. She had walked resting on her father's arm hundreds of times, but feeling her fingers entwined with Legolas' made everything so much more special. When she had rested that night, amongst the memories of her childhood was an image of her and Legolas as they had been dressed the night before, walking hand-in-hand through the trees at sunset looking deep into each other's eyes. She had been so shocked by this and the working of her brain that she sat straight up in bed, eyes fully focused on her surroundings and a small gasp escaping her mouth.
Legolas was disappointed, to say the least, when she shrank from him but he hid this as he rummaged in a pocket for the key to the gate before them.
"This is the Royal Garden," he said flatly. "Only my family have keys." He turned the key and pushed the heavy iron gate, ushering Eldirn in before him.
The garden was not like the overly manicured ornamental gardens that scattered the area, but more personal, reflecting the people who it belonged to. Someone cared deeply for it, tending it here and there, keeping some plants in check to let others grow and keeping the soft grass low. Eldirn looked about her at the flowers and blossom that were before her in a vivid wash of colour. Her lips curved into a smile as she took in the heady mixture of scents. She turned to look at Legolas. He was watching her expectantly, waiting for her reaction, but Eldirn had no wish to speak a word; her mind was full of flowers and colours.
There was a rustle in a bush at her feet and a small furry animal ran out and off into another part of the garden. Startled, Eldirn jumped back; she had not heard it. She collided into Legolas, wrapping her arm around his to support her off-balance body.
Eldirn quickly recovered and looked at. "Forgive me," she said. Her eyes widened in amazement and curiosity. "Show me everything," she whispered hoarsely. "Please?" She used her small fingers to squeeze his arm, entreating him to tell her everything he knew about the garden's beauty.
Legolas smiled indulgently as he led her to the path, happy to feel her so close to him again.
They walked together up and down every single path in the garden for several hours. Eldirn was enchanted by the flowers and blossoms in the walled garden she had never been to before, whereas Legolas preferred the tall, relatively unchanging nature of the trees he had known since his birth.
There was an old cherry tree growing against the wall, its roots causing the wall to crumble at the base. It gave the most wonderful, juicy fruit in the autumn and Legolas recounted to Eldirn the hours he and Thalion had spent eating the sweet cherries and then feeling ill afterwards. Eldirn laughed gently and stooped to pick up a fallen cluster of the pink blossoms. She put it to her nose to take in the scent of early summer and was about to drop it back on the grass when Legolas stopped her.
"Here," he said gently, taking the blossom from her hand and tucking it carefully behind one of her ears. "I want you love the trees just as much as I do."
Eldirn smiled and looked into his eyes. He was staring at her intently. Subconsciously she adjusted the stem of the blossom behind her ear to make it comfortable, but neither of them let the connection between them be broken. Eldirn lost herself in the blue of his eyes, so completely different from her own, as Legolas admired the beauty in her deep brown eyes, the colour of rich soil with little flecks of green. Eldirn was suddenly overcome by a deep shyness and her cheeks flushed the same colour as the cherry blossom. She blinked and looked away, embarrassed by the way she had not even tried to cover the fact she had been staring at him.
Legolas had seen the flush start on the apples of her cheeks, before it spread to her whole face and she had to look away. It dawned on him that beneath everything, all her confidence and sarcasm, Eldirn was as shy as a little elfling at her first festival. Legolas smiled; he found it very endearing. She had turned away from him and he saw she was chewing on her lower lip. He reached out to touch her and Eldirn jumped visibly.
"You have very pretty eyes, my lady," he said lightly, and Eldirn flushed deeper, her lip bearing the worst of her unease. "And your cheeks match the blossom behind you ear," he finished teasingly.
Horrified, Eldirn's hands flew to her face. Her cheeks were hot to the touch.
Legolas took her by the arm to lead her on. "Come, there are more things to show you."
"What is through the gap in the wall there?" Eldirn pointed at the wall. "It looks interesting."
"That is the Healers' garden. You may look if you like, but I do not think they would appreciate us disturbing their work."
Eldirn nodded and stepped quickly, almost excitedly, Legolas noticed, towards the small break in the wall. She braced her hands on either side and looked through hungrily, moving her head from one side to the other, slowly taking everything in. She waved quickly to a figure in the garden Legolas could not see and then turned back to face him. She smiled simply and thanked him.
He took her arm again and pulled her in the direction of a tall weeping willow. The branches were so long that they trailed along the grass, creating a tiny haven underneath. Legolas let go of her arm to part the green curtain and Eldirn stepped inside. Laid out on a blanket was a picnic. And under a small insect net was a large seed cake.
"When did you do all this?" Eldirn gasped, finally finding her tongue again.
"Well, I had a little help," Legolas admitted, "but I did it this morning before coming to meet you."
"Oh! It is wonderful," Eldirn said, clapping her hands together and looking at Legolas with admiration. "Where does all the food come from?"
"From the kitchens," Legolas said, watching her looking at all the food they had. "Eldirn, stop hopping around and sit down and eat! It must be past noon by now."
She grinned at him and settled down next to a basket of bread.
For a while there was no conversation except, "here try this" or "this is delicious". They sat on opposite sides of the blanket and passed plates back and forth to each other, gorging themselves on the food. Every so often their eyes would meet and Eldirn would blush again. Legolas decided that Eldirn looked very pretty when her face flushed like that.
When they had had enough of the savoury foods, Legolas cut them both a wedge of the cake. They both tried to eat the crumbly cake with some dignity and manners, but failed. The crumbs went everywhere, on the grass, on the blanket and on their clothes. Eldirn laughed when a large piece fell down the inside of Legolas' shirt and he had to stand up and untuck the shirt from his trousers to find the offending crumb. Legolas smiled at her and threw it in the air, catching it in his mouth, making her laugh more.
When they had eaten their fill and drunk some wine to wash their meal down, they placed the plates just outside the tree's branches and shook the blanket over the path so the birds would eat all the crumbs. Back under the tree Eldirn sat down again on the grass.
"I do not think I could walk anymore. I have had far too much to eat."
Legolas flopped down beside her and stretched out on the grass, lying on his back, "I completely agree!"
Eldirn unhooked the cloak from around her neck and folded it into a long, neat bundle. Gently she lifted Legolas' head and placed it on top of one end of the makeshift pillow. Legolas quietly mumbled his thanks. Eldirn settled onto the other end of the cloak, careful to keep her back to him.
Looking up at the green canopy, Eldirn quickly became transfixed by the way the small leaves quivered in the light breeze and how the shafts of light pierced the gaps in the branches. She smiled as the tree shifted so the light landed on her cheek. She felt the warmth of the sunlight on her skin, teasing it gently. Then, as quickly as it had come, the warmth went, leaving her cold, but delighted by the fleeting moment.
Silently she berated herself for letting Legolas touch her, and take her arm again. The unfamiliar warmth frightened her, yet gave her body the strangest of thrills. To be with him was sweet pleasure and sweet torture all at once. When he had pushed the blossom behind her ear, he had given the side of her face a gentle caress that she barely even felt, but it set her skin on fire and made her hands shake in fear of the power he seemed to wield over her. Yet despite all this, being in anyone's company had never felt so utterly easy and natural to her. She was completely confused.
Eldirn stretched her arms above her head; she was sleepy from eating too much. Taking a quick glance at Legolas, she noticed he had not moved and was still staring at the same patch of leaves.
Legolas had felt her small hands touch his skin so lightly he would have not noticed it if it was not for the strength that lifted his head and placed her soft cloak underneath. He was so caught up in thinking about the nimble fingers wrapped in his hair that he almost forgot to thank her. Then she had lain down too, their heads only a few inches apart, and her scent just wafted over him like the fragrance of the flowers in the garden. She smelt of every sweet flower he had ever known, and yet she did not. For all that smelt of gardens and forests there was equally something unique, special to her, that he could not quite place. It made him giddy simply breathing it in and thinking about how it would smell even closer to her body.
He got his wish when the breeze shifted direction. The sound and smell assaulted his senses and Legolas thought that if ever he were to lose control of his mind and body it would be that moment. His eyes widened as he fixed harder on one spot of the tree, and he tried to keep his focus there until the sensations passed, but they did not and Legolas was wracked with thoughts and feelings he did not understand.
Suddenly he heard a soft voice calling his name and Legolas' concentration followed the sound. He turned his head and looked into Eldirn's eyes so close to his own.
"Pardon?" He said quietly.
"I asked you what Rivendell was like," she said simply.
His old feelings were replaced by new ones, ones of regret, shame and anger. His time in Rivendell had not been buried in his memories yet and her question flooded his thoughts, opening barely healed wounds. Legolas turned his head away and looked at the green canopy over their heads.
In a controlled voice he said, "It was beautiful."
"Are the Woods still full of beech trees?"
"Yes," Legolas said and sat up, confused. "How would you know that?"
"I went once, when I was younger, to visit our family there."
"Oh," Legolas said, more surprised than interested.
"Of course, I never met Lord Elrond or his family," she said carrying on, "but I did see Lady Arwen once. She is beautiful, is she not?"
"In a way," Legolas said tersely from between his teeth. He lay back down again regretting being so sharp with her. Eldirn was not to know what had happened in Rivendell, it was not her fault.
The silence between them was uncomfortable. Eldirn nibbled on her lower lip and twisted her hands over her stomach. She frowned, wondering what could have brought such a sudden change in his behaviour; and then she recollected what she had heard from her father and her mother's friends. Legolas was in disgrace for some action in Rivendell and was being punished by his father. It was said that three guards had almost been disciplined over the matter as well. She decided, sadly, not to mention the place again, until she could not help it.
Abruptly, Legolas stood up and brushed himself off.
"Shall we take another walk?" He asked.
Eldirn declined the offer of a hand to help her to her feet. She shook her cloak to get the grass from it and fastened the soft cloth around her neck once more. Legolas was smiling again, and his tone had changed back to normal from the shortness he had used when she had spoken of Rivendell. He pulled the branches back for her, and she stepped through, but she did not take the arm he offered.
The Sun had moved round in the sky and it was long past noon.
"Do you not have to be with your father today?" She asked, concerned for him.
"He said he would see me this afternoon after we had finished here."
She nodded her understanding, but then asked again, "Does that not mean he is expecting you now?"
Legolas stopped and turned to her. "Are we finished?" His question was more than just a simple one. Hidden in there was fear that she would send him away and not speak to him for another forty years, and the hope that she would stay with him for much longer to come.
"I would not deny the King his son," Eldirn said, side-stepping the issue.
"And I would not leave you unsatisfied with our time here."
Eldirn smiled. "There are other days, Legolas."
In that moment she gave him something so precious to look forward to and to hope for that he broke into a silly grin.
"Your father must be wondering what I have done with you," she reprimanded herself jokingly.
"I am sure he would think the worst." Legolas said flatly. Eldirn looked at him and saw the mirth in his eyes. She pushed him away from her, calling him Orc before running towards the garden gate. Legolas soon caught her and tickled her sides. Eldirn's shrieks and cries not only disturbed the birds, but a solitary figure in the Healers' Garden who smiled to herself knowingly, and in full anticipation of a future conversation.
Legolas finally released his captive and took her to the gate, opening it for her. Eldirn was still putting her hair straight as she passed.
Legolas laughed at her and said, "That is what you get for called the Prince of Greenwood the Great an orc. I thought you had learnt that lesson once before."
"I recall the punishment was worse that time," Eldirn said wryly. It was true. Legolas had pushed her into the mud by the river and made her eat the dirt.
"Think of it as the start. There are far worse things to come." Legolas teased.
"You would not dare." Eldirn said stubbornly and Legolas just shrugged at her.
They walked to the main path that would take Eldirn home and she turned to him.
"Thank you for a lovely morning, Legolas. I had a wonderful time."
Legolas took her hand and brought it to his lips saying, "The pleasure was all mine, my lady, all mine." He laid the softest of kisses on the back of her hand and caressed her fingers as he brought her arm back down. He noticed that she had blushed slightly again and that the cherry blossom was still behind her ear despite everything. "I will see you soon." It was a statement, not a request, and she nodded.
Eldirn turned and started down the path, feeling Legolas' eyes on her back until the trail bent to one side and she was out of his sight. As soon as she knew Legolas could no longer see her, Eldirn stopped and leant against the nearest tree. Her body was being assaulted by feelings so strong that she could no longer walk. If only Legolas had known the fear he caused her when his arms had gone around her to tickle her hips then he would have stopped, but again, when he touched her skin she felt aflame. She could still feel the burning mark left on her hand by his lips. Clutching it to her like an injury, she turned and ran home.
Legolas sighed and walked towards his father. He entered the large building and wove his way through the corridors to the great doors that partitioned his father from everyone who wanted to speak with him. Legolas skirted these carefully checking for other Elves. No one could see him other than the guards stationed by the doors, so Legolas slipped behind a carefully positioned curtain and fumbled for the handle of a hidden entrance to his father's study. It was the King's secret way of escaping from troublesome visitors who refused move from outside his study until the King saw them.
Thranduil was seated at his desk, but did not look up when he heard the little door open. He had a pile of parchment in front of him and a quill in his hand. Thranduil was deep in thought, the end of the feather slightly in his mouth to aid him. Legolas went as quietly as possible to the small desk and chair that he now called his own and tidied the items on it.
Thranduil flung his quill down in frustration.
"I give up!" He turned to his son, "I am glad you are back. I need you to take this down for me."
And with that Thranduil proceeded to dictate a long and complicated missive to one of his officials in a different part of the realm. Several times Thranduil had to call Legolas' attention back to the task in hand, for his son's mind appeared to be wandering onto matters it deemed more important
"…henceforth, therefore, I feel that it would he highly inappropriate for the use of official resources to be authorised…" Thranduil paused and looked at his son. Legolas was staring out into space, a dreamy look on his face and his pen making an ever-increasing blotch of ink on the parchment. "Legolas!" Thranduil called sharply.
His son did not respond.
"Legolas!" Thranduil said again, but still Legolas did not hear him.
Thranduil moved around so he stood immediately behind Legolas. He rested his hands on the back of Legolas' chair and placed his mouth directly by his son's ear, saying his name one final time.
Legolas jumped. The nib of the quill snapped on the desk. His arms flew up knocking over a bottle of black ink. It spread in a slick all over the desk and, before Legolas could recover, flowed over the edge of the desk and onto his leg. Legolas finally moved out of the way and reached for a bundle of unused parchment to mop up the mess.
Thranduil stepped back and watched his son, half annoyed and half amused. He righted the bottle of ink and reached for more paper to help clean things. He wiped the table and his son's hand and his leg where the stain was beginning to dry.
"I have a small room behind that panel," Thranduil said, pointing to a part of the wall Legolas had not looked on as anything other than wood before. "There is a small basin and a flagon of water. Wash yourself and your clothes. Your mind certainly was not on this dictation. What were you thinking of?"
Legolas smiled sheepishly. "Eldirn."
He fumbled with the mechanism to spring back the wooden panel. Thranduil came up behind him and pressed a knot in the wood. It creaked and then slid across to show a small room, lit by one lone shaft of light. Legolas picked up the large jug of water and poured it into the little basin. He reached for the soap and began to scrub at his skin and clothes.
As he used his fingernails to clean himself, Legolas' attention was drawn to a small, yellow piece of parchment pinned to the wall. He recognised the wobbly scrawl as his own when he had been first learning to write. His mind went back to the day that he had shown it to Thranduil. Legolas had climbed onto his father's lap and been brushed aside with harsh words. " Thalion won an archery competition today, beating all the guards. And he knocks before he enters my study." How those words had haunted Legolas all his life! But now to find that little scrap of paper made his heart leap with joy. Legolas wiped his hands dry on the backs of his trousers and then carefully pulled the pin from the wall.
Meanwhile, Thranduil had returned to his desk and picked up the next thing to do from his pile. It was a letter from Haedron, Eldirn's father. Thranduil scanned the missive quickly, his frown deepening with each line. Sadly he closed his eyes.
Thranduil was distracted by the sound of his son, who was leaping across the room towards him with a scrap of parchment in his hand.
"Adar, Adar! Oh Adar! You kept it!"
Thranduil hastily stuffed the letter into a drawer away from Legolas' eyes and braced himself as Legolas threw himself around his neck, leaving inky marks on his father's clothes and face.
"What are you talking about Legolas?" Thranduil said in consternation, his hands subconsciously wrapping around his son.
"You kept this. I thought you had thrown it away!"
Thranduil had a look at the piece of paper. "Why would I throw it away? You gave it to me, and you were so proud of it. How could I not want it?"
"But you pushed me aside, you barely even looked at it when I gave it to you." Legolas said innocently.
Thranduil looked seriously at his son. "Legolas, you have seen how I work. You must understand something of how difficult and frustrating it can be. You must have caught me at a bad moment. I am sorry if that upset you."
"I realise now Adar. I know how trying some of this is for you, but I thought you did not love me," Legolas admitted softly.
"Oh Legolas," Thranduil said sadly, pulling his son tightly to him. He felt Legolas' arms tighten around him too. They both realised that the past few days had been more beneficial for them than they could have possibly imagined.
"Adar?" Legolas said into his father's shoulder. "Eldirn really loved the garden. Thank you for the suggestion. May I take her there again?"
Thranduil's face fell, but Legolas did not see. Neither did his voice betray the fear that had risen in his heart as he said,
"Of course you may, ionnen [my son], of course you may."