Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the rings but I do own Sky, Suiadan and Andúnë.

Chapter 14

Some peace

Legolas gently paced the length of the bedchamber, holding Andúnë in his arms. She had started crying but Sky was so exhausted she had slept through it. Legolas had happily got up to go see her. As a matter of fact, he jumped at any opportunity to be with his daughter. Andúnë wasn't crying anymore but Legolas didn't want to put her down. He would kill for Andúnë; he had killed for her when the orcs had tried to steal her mother. He placed a soft kiss on Andúnë's head as he laid her down on his bed beside Sky. He sat at the foot of the bed just to watch the two most important females in his life. Sky slept soundly as Andúnë happily played with her own hands. Legolas smiled as sunlight began to fill the room. He knew that soon he would have to go and see his father who would occupy him most of the day with royal duties. But Legolas longed to spend one day with his wife and daughter, just so that he could see Sky with her when she wasn't asleep. It was a sad truth. Legolas very rarely saw Andúnë when she was awake. She was always asleep by the time he got back. He knew Sky was bored and longed to explore the forest but she couldn't do that with a baby in tow. He watched Sky twitch and open her eyes. She smiled when she saw Andúnë lying next to her. She sat up and saw Legolas watching her. "Good morning my love," she said, "Was it you who placed this little angel next to me?"

"Strange things happen when you live amongst elves," joked Legolas. He crawled forward and kissed Sky. How he had longed to be able to kiss her! He was usually only able to give her a quick peck on the cheek before he rushed off. But for now he was able to give her a long, deep, passionate kiss. Sky drew back and smiled to see Legolas still had his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I'm going to ask my father if I can have the day off," he said softly, "I need time to bond with Andúnë and I can't do that if she's asleep whenever I see her. A few minutes before you wake up isn't enough."

"I agree," said Sky, "Your father expects too much of you. You are only one person." Legolas smiled and kissed her again. He pulled away and quickly dressed. He was just about to leave when he said, "Sky, don't dress Andúnë, I would like to."

"Today, Legolas, you can do whatever you want," said Sky. Legolas smiled.

It's about time too!" said Thranduil as his son sidled into the throne room, "Where have you been?"

"Err, I'm not going to be present today, father," said Legolas.

"Why not?" asked Thranduil.

"I'm going to spend the day with my daughter," said Legolas, his confidence running away like rabbits from a wolf.

"Ha! Legolas, she can't even crawl, what can you do with her?" said Thranduil, "Now, stop this nonsense and you can have the day off when she starts…" But the throne door slammed shut as Legolas walked away.

Sky smiled as she saw her husband stretched out on his back with Andúnë lying on his chest. He had been true to his word and come straight back after telling his father he wasn't coming in. True, he couldn't just stop being a prince but these moments with Andúnë were precious and he needed to be there. They were in the gardens. As it was early spring, it was fairly warm but Legolas had fretted like an old woman until Sky had agreed to put Andúnë into the warmest clothes they had for her. Andúnë had mastered sitting unattended recently. Legolas had seemed very disappointed to have missed her sitting up by herself but had decided to come to some sort of agreement with his father. So that he could spend a few hours each day with his daughter before she went to sleep. Sky bent over her husband and gently kissed his forehead. He smiled. "How long is she normally asleep for?" he whispered.

"No more than an hour," said Sky, "She should wake up soon. I think we should go inside. It's getting cold." Legolas nodded. He sat up, holding Andúnë to his chest, trying not to disturb her. He wrapped his arms around the child as they walked back in. As they entered the palace, a few of Legolas' friends who were in the army made a beeline for him. "Legolas," said one of them, "How come we never see you anymore?" Legolas was about to speak when Sky said, "Why don't you go show her off for a little while, so I can have some peace?" Legolas nodded and Sky walked away. She trusted Legolas completely with their daughter. As soon as Sky was out of sight, the other elves spoke. "Well, I wish they made all humans like that," said one, "I never see one's like her around Esgaroth." He got elbowed by an older elf, Glandur.

"So, is this the little girl who keeps you away from us?" he asked.

"Yes, Glandur, this is Andúnë," said Legolas.

"She's beautiful," said Adan, the younger elf, "She looks like her mother."

"I knew she would," said Legolas.

"So, any plans for having another one?" asked Glandur.

"What? No, not yet," said Legolas, "After what we went through for Andúnë, I don't know if Sky wants another child just yet. Maybe after we've defeated…"

"You don't have to say his name," said Glandur, "We know who you mean and I don't blame you. That evil…well, he's got my wife all in a frenzy. My youngest, Vanya, she only left home a few years ago, lives near Esgaroth, but now my wife wants her to come home. She keeps going, 'oh she's not married, you heard what he did to the princess, he'll be doing it to her next!' Drives me insane sometimes. I've tried to explain to her that…I'm going into sensitive territory here but you know what I mean, right?"

"You never did know when to shut up," said Adan, "Spoil it every time we're in Esgaroth."

"Excuse me for telling those women a little fact like you're married!" said Glandur. Andúnë whimpered and opened her eyes. Glandur stopped chastising Adan for his infidel ways. "Well, will you look at those eyes?" said Glandur, "My eldest had eyes just like those when he was younger."

"How many children do you have?" asked Adan.

"I lost count when they started making friends," said Glandur, "There were always about fifteen in my house, I never knew which one's were mine." Legolas laughed. It was true; Glandur's wife had a habit of inviting anyone and everyone to dinner so it was always a noisy affair. Legolas had been once. He had never gone again because he always got a sense of claustrophobia. He's always been tripping over some child and occasionally a dog. The dog was worrying because Glandur could never remember how they had come to get it. It was assumed one of the children had brought it home but it had stayed with them until it died. He remembered Glandur complaining about having to bury the dog, even though he was sure it wasn't theirs and the children had all denied bringing it home. It seemed no one wanted to bury the damn thing. It had been smelly when it was alive and after being dead for about five days because it had crawled somewhere no one went to die, it had smelled even worse! It was a common joke for someone to say, 'it smells like a dead dog in here!' whenever Glandur entered the room.

"So, do you think Suiadan's given up?" asked Adan, "I mean, there's been no trace of him for almost a month now."

"I don't know," said Legolas, "But I hope for Andúnë's sake that he has gone, at least for a little while. So she can grow up in peace."

Legolas got his wish. For three years, there was nothing to be found of Suiadan. A few brave Beornings even hiked up to his cave. All they found were dead leaves and a nasty smell. Suiadan, it seemed, had given up for now. Sky was left in peace with her husband and her child and life seemed far too perfect. And she was right. Life was far too perfect to be enjoyed that long a time.