AN: Hiya all! Well, my little vacation's over and I'm back in school again. Actually, it feels like I never left school so I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing, really. Probably a normal thing since I'm nearly always in school or doing something school related….or dance related….or Girl Scouts related. Anywho, I'm actually updating on time for once! I'm really going to try to make that a habit unless things get wicked crazy for me again (like with my Molecular Biology exam at the end of the month). Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I greatly appreciate them and I appreciate your honesty. Please, let me know if there's anything I can to do change this story and make it better. I like to hear what people are thinking and I'm always willing to do something to improve the way I write.

LJP: Oh my indeed! It's not exactly a good thing to misplace a younger sibling, especially when her mother isn't exactly going to be the most rational person about it. Shannon would have no qualms about giving Legolas, prince or not, a piece of her mind if he manages to lose Emma on her.

Elven Script: Thranduil may be getting a little of both, in the near future. The physical, I'm not sure but, as for the verbal, that could easily come from Shannon or Algernil. Maybe even Emma but that's a long shot since she's pretty much afraid of her own father. It's quite alright! Schoolwork is very important to keep up on! I hope you're all caught up and everything's well with you! I'm posting right now!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in Graduate School. All I own are Pointe Shoes.

At least Legolas was comforted by two related facts with the summons to Thranduil's study. The first was that meeting was going to be short and painfully brief. His father was not going mince words on this topic in any way, shape, or form. He was going to say what he had to say and that was that. All the crowned prince was supposed to was stand there and take his father's words to heart and try not to smile.

The smiling had very little to do with his father or what his father had to say. It had everything, though; to do with the fact his mother was present at the little meeting. Algernil was standing to his father's right, just off Thranduil's shoulder so that she was behind him. Normally, Legolas figured since the ruling women he knew were very strong characters in their own rights, the queen would have just demurely stood there and allowed her husband to speak.

Not so with Algernil.

She was standing behind Thranduil listening to his words and almost mocking him. She was making light of his motions, doing them a moment after her husband. Much to the amusement of her son even if he was trying his best not to smile or give any indication that his mother was posturing behind his father.

The second part of the summons had everything to do with the worry laying on Legolas' mind. At least now he knew where Emma was. Thranduil's rant seemed to go on and on about the elven child that was his daughter by blood.

"Furthermore, if you do not get her out of that tree, she'll be spending the night up there without any food or guards to keep her safe from anything that night wander into the area," Thranduil threatened with no hint of humor in his voice.

He meant every word he said. The threat he was making was very, very genuine and that did not bode well for Emma or Legolas. True, the shadows that had once covered all of Mirkwood were re-ceding but there were still some dark and evil thing about in the forest that only moved under the cover of night. To leave Emma- who most likely was unarmed and unaware of anything that lurked in the woods at night- up in a tree was not exactly the safest or smartest of ideas.

From what Legolas understood, Emma had wound up in the tree because of Thranduil. As the story was told to him, Emma had returned from her lessons early and had found no one around. As per her brother's instructions- because he didn't want her in his own quarters without someone to watch over her- she'd gone to the king's private study to do her homework. It was in said study that Thranduil had found the child and, in his infinite wisdom, had his private guards chase her out of the study.

Emma, being frightened and having no one to run to in order to protect her, took off at a dead run. The guards, with their orders from their ruler, continued to give chase and wound up sending their quarry up one of the larger trees in a courtyard.

Therein was the problem for all involved.

Emma refused to come down out of the tree now. She was sitting among its leafy branches looking as if she was ready to spend a very long time up there.

It really didn't help the situation any that Thranduil had ordered the guards to stay around the tree. Apparently, according to their shared father, the guards were told that, if Emma was to come down from her tree, she was to be brought directly to him in order to be "reprimanded."

No one could say if Emma knew that or not but the guards weren't exactly inspiring the elven child to come down from her tree. They had to indicate that something big was going on and that it had something to do with the father she was sacred of.

"I'll get her out of the tree, father, and there's no need to reprimand Emma in any way. The only reason she was in your study was because I told her to come here. It wasn't as if she was doing something wrong in here. She was just doing her work," Legolas, sighed trying to reason with his father.

He knew reasoning was a moot point but, at the very least, he had to try. It wasn't like he was going to bring Emma to his father once she came down, anyway. He would take her aside and make sure she understood what happened. Their shared father would have nothing to do with it.

Legolas sketched a bow in deference to his father's position and was nearly out of the room when he heard his mother's voice.

"Do not bother, my son. Go take some rest," Algernil stated, giving Legolas a blatant wink, "I will get Emma out of that tree and bring her to you right away."

This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to enact her little plan. Emma was, finally, in a place she couldn't easily leave. Not if she wanted to avoid being taken to her father. She had to stay up in that tree in order to keep herself safe and Algernil knew that for a fact.

Without a place to go, Emma had to hear Algernil out. She had no choice but to listen to and learn from the older elven female.

"One of you go and get that child out of that tree, Thranduil sighed, "I care not which of you. Just get it done."