Special, Just Like Everyone Else

Author: Icy Flame

Ch. 4

~~~

Thranduil boiled; his son had made a fool out of him in front of so many! It was not just his subjects tonight, but the rare Lórien guests as well. The shame was at the breaking point. It would take a long while to cease the gossip this would cause. How could his son be so careless? It was true; elves were not a chaise race. It would be a waste. They lived so long that it would seem a disgrace to let their beauty go reverend. His wife's last was an acceptation to this though. Legolas needed to be pure when he was bonded to his mate. That meant that his virginity must be protected at all costs. All these years he had secured to prince at all hours of the day, or as close as one could with a rebellious elf, all in vain.

He watched, forlorn, as his Greenleaf left the feast. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his pursuits. He had just hoped that his boy had not given in to the chase of a lusty elf. When Legolas has looked upon him with such distress, betrayal in his eyes, the eyes of his mother, he had known he had done wrong. Oh how his little elfling reminded him of his late Queen, his one and only true mate. Time without her had left the king in a dire mood, missing her fiery spirit.  It was times like this that made the sting of his wife's death all the more present. Thranduil recalled his spouse fondly. They had spent so little time together. Only 8371 years, seven months, three weeks, six days, and eighteen hours. The years they did spend together were so filled with something new every day. He'd awoken each morn smiling; looking forward to what she would have in store for him. It was without fail that something exciting and refreshing accompanied his young wife. There had been entire months that they had It had been a grand adventure. Their temperaments were so far apart, most said that there would be no way that they could possible wed happily. Thranduil could remember like yesterday how she had come storming into his father's thrown room, marching over to him and bowing swiftly before turning and briskly marching over to him. Everyone had been too stunned to do anything against her. Her determined spirit left most in awe and those that it didn't her shocking beautify took care of. She had clasped her small hand in his large paw and tugged him from his seat. Then his lady brought him back over to his father and demanded to be allowed to take on the trials for his hand. At first the prince had been indignant, he was neither a princess nor a maternal! He was not one to be courted, seduced by a female who was also a maternal! His father, the king of Mirkwood had been over come with the thoughts of having a maternal for his son had agreed at once, setting the simplest tasks that could be taken that weren't discourteous.  His father learned that the hard way when she demanded to have more tiring trials unless she did not wish for his son to be wed. Thranduil had flushed as he was "awarded" to her, wed not many years latter. For centuries they had shared an undying passion that had prematurely been doused by the mortal birth of his youngest and most precious child.

 Thranduil wearily forced his mind from his deceased Queen. The councilors approached, the King's mood soured appropriately. They only came about when they had something they wanted to change or whine about. Neither was any form of entertainment for the King. Yaniul was the only one he saw fit for the occupation. Perhaps his next in line would rid Mirkwood's hierarchy of these vultures? He could only hope. He scowled and considered growling for a moment, before recalling that he was indeed the King of Mirkwood and to growl at his council would not only be deemed unacceptable but quite lunacy as well. Especially, he thought, after the scene with Greenleaf. He would have to deal with his son soon, before some crazy notion took place in his youngest child's head that he wasn't trusted.

Greenleaf was an intelligent elf, surpassing many of his teachers in their subjects. But when it came to matters with emotions the young elf had missed so much without a mother. Although a caring and loving youngling, Legolas did tend to get to wrong impression from people. As a very young elfling he had believed his father hated him when he was refused to go outside, taking to the notion that he was a hideous beast to be hidden away from "normal citizens". The only way the King had been able to convince him otherwise was to physically remove the youngest prince from the palace and "tour" the woods surrounding it. That had been one of the few excursions Legolas had been allowed to go. Although, the King smirked, being allowed and actually going out did not seem to hold much difference for the Prince. He chuckled at his son's antics, and then stonily glared at his council.

 "Sir, we have finished our search."

Thranduil's mood improved ever so slightly with this news. He shot a look at the surrounding populace and the whisperings stop. Conversations returned to their normal roar and the King waited for the councilors to continue.

"The scared scrolls have been quite uninformative when it comes to the specifics. There are no further particulars on what a suitor must complete, my lord."

A thin smirk stretched over Mirkwood's ruler's face. To the councilors he seemed overly pleased at the prospects of creating his own tasks. Thranduil had to admit; if the old coots were good for anything it was research. He continued to speak with them until the feast ended, scarily enough very cheery.

~~~

Legolas stormed down the halls leading to his bedroom. His guard scurried after him in an attempt to keep up. His strides lengthened as Legolas' frustrations stewed. When the pleas of his guard finally reached his pointed little ears he stopped right away. One of guards ran straight into him, blushing and stammering apologies as she backed away. Legolas ignored her excuses and walked slower. After he arrived at his door he not so gently closed it and gave in.

The tears fell freely from his eyes now that no one was looking. His shoulders shook and legs gave out underneath him. He curled into a fetal position and wrapped his arms around his legs. He'd never felt so ashamed as he had when his father questioned him. He hadn't meant for his adventure to turn out so sourly. It had gone from a simple journey to a family feud in fewer words than he cared to think about.

His breathing was hazardous and stuffy. A pounding at his door warned him of an impending visitor.

"Little Leaf? Are you alright?"

Scampering to his feet he chocked back a sob. He slipped over to the window, peering down to the ground below. There didn't seem to be anyone walking around, yet. Everyone must have remained at the feast. Another round of knocks assaulted the door, startling the prince and sealing his decision. Scuttling out of the window he shimmed down the side of the palace.

When his feet touched the ground he blinked blearily in an attempt to clear his tear-ridden eyes. His feet then lead him to his herb garden. Breathing in deeply Legolas attempted to sooth his rampant emotions.

~~~

Haldir's mind was a blur with all this new information. No one was willing to spill information about the youngest royal, leaving him or her with an unmarked past. The new acquaintance Tathar's mate was cheating on him. Not only that but Lord Elrond's crew wasn't due onto the next day. The competition for the youngest Mirkwood royal would not begin until all had arrived.

Haldir shifted, uncomfortable with the mounting competitors. It was unreal. From Lórien forty-eight elves were nominated for the prince/ss' hand. Mirkwood had provided nearly seventy warriors and twelve scholars for the contest. The rivalry that Elrond was providing from his land wasn't documented. The King had sneered and said he was certain that only a few would be joining. When one of Lórien scholars had inquired as to whether freelance elves were joining the king had scoff and denounced any such attempt. It became obvious to Haldir then that the King was indeed interested in winning an ally, for what he wasn't sure but if the orc attack on his people was any clue it was for an upcoming battle.

His ears picked up a faint sniffling. He frowned, following his pointed little ears to the source of the distress he paused. There was an elf in the middle of, if Haldir's nose wasn't lying, an herb garden. He approached, silent like all elven movements. Laying a hand on their shoulder he felt them stiffen and the sobbing stop. An elf with watery red lined eyes gazed up at him, tears following freely down his face. Haldir was taken aback. Soothingly he cupped his face with his hand and wiped away the tears. He heard the soft gasp from the elf and returned his silvery gaze to his eyes. Haldir felt a gasp leave his own lips as he looked upon the other's features. It was Greenleaf! The same elf that had fled from the feasts but a few minutes previously when the King insinuated that he was being unfaithful. Haldir's first reaction was to get the valor out of there. If someone where to walk in on them then his chances of ever finding a mate were slim to none, not to mention his post as Captain of the Guard and Marchwarden would be striped away.

"Your tears, you shame the royal family with them."

The other elf just stared at him.

~

Legolas stared up at his company. His bottom lip trembled, a shudder seem to run through his entire body. For some reason this elf's words hurt more than anything else. Legolas had been shocked to find himself not alone but even more to find that the elf from earlier was who was here with him. His sadness turned quickly to anger. How dare he! Where did he think that he could speak to him like this? This elf wasn't his father-Legolas halted his thought, no of course he wasn't his father, his father was accusing him of losing his innocence right before his coming out. The anger that had been building fell away just as quickly.

His knees, suddenly weak, gave out beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. His butt his the grass and his hands went out to steady himself. What was wrong with him?


~

Haldir blinked in surprise, not something that often caught him, as the other elf fell. He was too shocked to even try and catch him. Greenleaf looked just as surprised to see himself on the ground. The Marchwarden looked down at the beauty, unsure of what he should do. His mind was telling him to get the valor out of there before someone came by and spotted them, while he had this gut feeling that he shouldn't leave this elf?…the area? He was unsure. Haldir frowned; he didn't like being unsure. His life was filled with battles, and being unsure of oneself was a sure way to get your self killed. Deciding that his gut was obviously wrong he turned and walked away from the goggling Greenleaf.

~~~

Rumil laid giddily on his bed. His other brother was already asleep, having left before the feast had completed. It had gone on into the night, stopping late into the night. The King had kept the glasses following and musicians working. It had been a spirited celebration, and King Thranduil had promised more to come as his youngest coming of age drew nearer.

Rumil threw an amused glance as his brother rolled over in his sleep, mumbling about mushroom gardens and giant hares. Pulling his blanket up to his shoulders he turned in for a good morning's rest.

~~~

Gwibess blinked blearily at her master's empty bed, it was much too early to awaken, why was master up? The spider stood shakily on four legs, dragging the rest. Master hadn't returned to sleep. That was not right; master should be slumbering! This great injustice must be corrected at once!

The spider let out a 'bleat' sound and crawled over to the window. Jumping down to the ground with a thump, Gwibess sniffed at the air and took off towards her master.

~~~

CHAPTER END

~~~

Yes short I know, but I just updated yesterday! Demanding little buggers you are! ^_^ I hope to have more out soon! Not as soon as this but I have a psych exam on Thursday and my final for my Self-Defense class is next week so I only have two more classes to practice! Not to mention I get to start working on my final paper for Lit….I don't have a topic yet. Eep! Best be getting back to work! Thanks for all the support! I wish I had the time and energy to thank you all personally but I will in the next chapter. I need sleep, I just got over being sick this weekend! *smiles* I just realized a lot of this might not make sense. I finished this late so I might just go back tomorrow and scrap this chapter and re-write it. No, don't worry not totally but I'll have to make sense of it for you! I will, send any questions in an email or a review! Which reminds me, someone asked if the twins were bother maternal or just one, originally I only wanted one to be, but now that it has been mentioned I might make it both! It's a surprise! Thanks Arch-Nemesis*waves*

Later yo,

Icy