Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or anything to do with Middle-Earth.

Chapter 35

A scar.

Tigerlily smoothed out the creases in her tunic. Now that the rebels were gone, she could go out without having to disguise herself. She felt far freer. Legolas was happy because he could show their son off to all of his friends without worrying. Indeed, Oropher had proven very popular amongst the elves of Eryn Lasgalen. Wherever he was, someone always wanted to see him. The maids who cleaned Tigerlily and Legolas' room cooed over him if he was still there when they arrived. And they got away with not doing their work quickly because even the Housekeeper who was in charge of them had become besotted by the little boy. Oropher seemed to have inherited his father's ability to charm the ladies. His laugh got him all the attention he wanted. Tigerlily was worried though. The maids and the ladies loved to dote on him and give him presents. Tigerlily was worried that Oropher would become spoilt. As much as Tigerlily wanted her son to have everything she hadn't, she didn't want him to be spoilt. She asked Legolas to ask everyone not to shower the baby with presents as it would spoil him and Tigerlily didn't want that. Tigerlily examined her clothes to make sure Oropher hadn't managed to splatter it with his breakfast. He had reached the phase where his food was more interesting everywhere except his stomach. Meal times had become a messy job and Legolas was suspiciously absent whenever Oropher was eating. Unlike the women she had seen Enedwaith, who had nearly always had a bit of food on their clothes courtesy of their youngest child, Tigerlily wasn't allowed to step out of her room until she was perfect. Or as close as she could get. According to Nimwen, it wasn't proper for a princess, even one who was a mother, to go around with stains on their clothes. And why was Tigerlily getting all dressed up? Well, she had to travel all the way across Thranduil's palace to get to the Healers. The Healers had politely asked for her to come to them every so often so they could check that her wound was healing well. Legolas has taken Oropher down to the dungeons for guard duty. Tigerlily had made sure Oropher was warm before he went. She had been down there herself and found it was bitterly cold. Tigerlily checked her hair in the mirror. It had just finished drying after Oropher had decided his mother should be wearing his breakfast in her hair. But, it had become blatantly obvious that she was human. Her hair was not doing what it was supposed to. It had curled in all the worst places and she had a few wisps on top that were stood up. Tigerlily sighed. She had to tie her hair back today. She tied it back and then looked in the mirror. She seemed reasonable. She went into the bed chamber and sat down on the bed to put her boots on. She suddenly jumped up! One of Oropher's toys had made her jump when she sat on it. She picked it up and sighed. She had two options. She could put it away like Legolas was supposed to or she could have fun and leave Legolas a little surprise. She smiled deviously as she placed it just under the covers. Right where Legolas would sit on it. 'There, let his heart skip a beat!' she thought as she left.

Tigerlily knocked on Thorontur, the head healer's door. "Enter," said a voice. Tigerlily looked round the door. "Ahh, Princess Tigerlily," said Thorontur, "How lovely to see you. Please, come in." Tigerlily came in and shut the door behind her.

"Tell me, how is your wound feeling?" asked Thorontur, not looking up from the papers on his desk.

"It feels fine," said Tigerlily. Thorontur looked up and smiled.

"Well, at least you're not like your husband," he said, "If I treat Legolas for a serious injury, I don't see him until the next one comes along. He never comes so I can check on how it's healing. Please, sit down." Tigerlily sat down on a settee.

"Now, have you been putting much strain on it?" asked Thorontur.

"No," said Tigerlily, "As a matter of fact, I've barely picked up Oropher since I last saw you. Legolas has been taking care of him."

"Well, I'm not surprised that Legolas jumped at the chance to spend time with his son," said Thorontur, "You do know what happened with Melda, don't you?"

"Yes," said Tigerlily.

"Right, well, lie down then so I can take a look at it," said Thorontur, standing up. Tigerlily lay back on the settee. It was ordinary practice for Thorontur to see Royal patients in privacy as opposed to the common room where everyone else went. He pushed Tigerlily's tunic and shirt up so he could see the scar. He looked at it carefully. Tigerlily lay perfectly still as he poked and prodded. She trusted Thorontur completely and never questioned what he was doing. When he was done, Tigerlily sat up. Thorontur wrote something down on one of his papers and looked through a few before saying, "I was just wondering. Were you and Legolas planning on a brother or sister for Oropher?"

"Not at the moment," said Tigerlily, "Maybe in a few years, why?"

Thorontur stayed silent. "Thorontur?" said Tigerlily, "Am I with child?" Thorontur shook his head and sighed. "Far from it, my dear," he said, "Tigerlily, I don't want to ruin your dreams but the chances of you having another child? They're very slim, almost nothing."

"What?" said Tigerlily, "What's wrong?"

"Tigerlily, when you were with the Fellowship did you take any blows to the stomach or anything like that?" asked Thorontur.

"Several times," said Tigerlily, "Once, when I was pregnant with Oropher, a ghost placed it's hand inside me and almost killed me."

"All those blows, combined with this attack," said Thorontur, "I don't really know how to say this, but Tigerlily, there is a high amount of scar tissue above your womb. It makes your chances of conceiving again virtually impossible. I'm afraid you may never have another child."

"No," said Tigerlily, "It can't be true. I saw in the Mirror of Galadriel…I saw myself expecting another child…please Thorontur, tell me it's not true."

"I'm afraid it is, Tigerlily, "said Thorontur, "There is nothing I can do to help you. It's just the way things are."

"I understand," said Tigerlily quietly. Thorontur felt a pang of guilt. He could her voice breaking as she tried not to cry. She got up and left quickly. Thorontur put his head on his desk and sighed. He'd never had to tell anyone that before. His predecessor had, during the first war with Sauron, when orc attacks had been rife. But Thorontur had never had to tell a woman that she couldn't have children.

Tigerlily lay awake that night, thinking. Could this be true? Could she no longer bear children? She looked at Legolas, who was asleep next to her. She felt so guilty. He would never have a daughter. He had told her not so long ago that he wanted one someday. So that he could do things right this time. Now both of them had been robbed of that chance. All because someone wanted power. For the hundredth time that day, Tigerlily cursed the dead rebels. 'May they rot in hell,' she thought, 'Rot! For what they've done to this family!'