Disclaimer- I own nothing!!!!!!!
SofiaB- thanks- she's not afraid of anybody and Elrohir has always provided friendship without commitment so she feels more comfortable with him.
NessaThranduiliel- aww aren't you nice. I can't help it- evil is just what I do
Leggylover4ever- Sorry- I didn't mean to- ok well maybe I did- but only a little bit! Thank you
Morithil- well here's your wish- we can't leave him out can we. Thanks
Meag/whatever you're going by this week p- I am not a butt! I resent that! You cry at everything lol. Everybody go and check out beautiful
JunoMagic- Sorry- I know- I just can't seem to write happy stories lol- thanks. Oh and when are you going to update 'The return of the shadow'? I love that story
Uhhh. . . . I have no name- lol thanks- I'll give them a puppy I promise. And leave donkey and dragon alone! No experiments do you hear me!
Thalia sat slumped in front of Legolas as they rode into the large courtyard. Her fingers held tight to his arm while she stared blankly ahead. Legolas himself held fast to her. He could feel her body begin to tense as if she were getting ready to run from him. His eyes searched for the figure of his father desperate to relinquish the feelings of responsibility.
Thranduil withheld a gasp at the sight of his son and daughter and quickly ordered the healer that stood behind him to begin attending to the injured of the party before making his way down the steps to meet his family.
Legolas raised his eyes to meet those of his father, thankful of the support that was so readily offered to him.
---
Niall stopped in his tracks and watched with a careful eye as his father helped his mother from the horse.
He waited and waited until finally she noticed him and he wished that she hadn't. She looked scary.
The elfling was oblivious to the sympathetic stares of the court and instead looked at his adar for some sign of encouragement. His adar smiled a little before a panicked look took over his face and he turned to catch Thalia as she fell.
Not wanting everybody to see him cry he put his chubby hand into his mouth and bit hard as he took a hesitant step forward.
Thalia raised her eyes in search of her son and the small hint of a smile graced her face as she found him. Niall stood still, watching as she knelt with her arms outstretched towards him, asking him for a hug.
She waited hopefully trying to ignore the feeling of nausea and drowsiness that were quickly rising within her. Her vision swam and she felt a stifling warmth flow through her body. Seeing her sway Legolas knelt besides her, placing a careful hand on her back.
Niall took a shaky step forward while everybody was otherwise occupied, his hands still firmly in his mouth.
His nana raised her head and for a moment he felt like turning around but noticing the gaze of everybody else he didn't want to behave like a baby. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as his adar smiled at him encouragingly.
Nodding at his son Legolas felt his wife tense and a wave of grief flowed through their bond.
Tears began to fall down Niall's face and his nana closed her eyes. The little elfling watched with wide eyes as she fell forward, gasping for breath. He didn't know what was happening and before he could shout to his adar he was picked up but his grandmother and taken inside.
---
Legolas caught his wife as she slumped forward and uncaring of the eyes that were carefully watching them he pulled her body to his and shifted her so that she lay like a child in his arms. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were closed against the world.
As he looked at her he felt the pain and grief that he had hidden for days begin to escape and the tears began to fall.
The elves in the courtyard felt their own heart break as they watched their prince rock his wife back and fourth.
"'Lia please, Lia…Lia please open your eyes. Don't leave me"
He leaned forward and lay his forehead on hers letting his tears fall over her face.
He cradled her body close to him as out of the corner of his eyes he watched Glorfindel glance at him before making his way into the hallway and to the healing wing, Eleni's body in his arms.
He cursed himself as he felt the bones of her body, he could count her ribs and her limbs were little better. Her stomach looked absurd to him and her skin was clammy and cold to the touch.
She felt his tears on her face and she wanted to shout at him, but she couldn't. She knew that if she did he would make her go back. There was nothing left to go back to. Her baby boy had looked so scared of her and he husband, he would grow to hate her.
Thranduil knelt down and carefully lifted Thalia's body into his arms, wincing at the feeling of her starved body under his fingers. He stood and watched as his son swayed on his feet and a look of utter despair covered his features. His body slumped and his face looked haggard as they climbed the steps. Thranduil motioned to a few healers that still stood by to follow them as he made his way to Legolas and Thalia's chambers. The familiar surroundings would hopefully put her at ease and make them both more comfortable.
He looked down at the wraith like figure in his arms; if he could not see the slight movement of her chest he would have thought her dead.
---
Eloria looked up as her husband entered the room carried Thalia into the room, Legolas and a few healers following behind.
She looked at her son with an expression of sorrow but hope and stood with her arms out as he made to embrace her. She pulled him to her and hugged him tightly, not knowing quite what to say and also knowing that no words could be found.
Legolas held onto his mother, letting the tears slide down his face. They stood together for what seemed like an age before Legolas asked the question that needed to be asked.
"Where is Niall?"
He pulled away, the tears still making their way unforgivingly down his cheeks. He could not forget his son in everything. Eleni was his twin, and perhaps they were somewhat alike to Elrohir and Elladan and they felt everything. Niall would have felt her pain, and her death. The elfling would not be able to cope with that.
"Here daddy"
The name that Thalia had taught him flowed from his tongue in a deep broken voice that was so full of confused pain. Legolas turned to look at his son as he stepped from the shadows. He felt something in his heart explode as his son ran at him, jumping into his arms.
"Adar, not coming back, not coming back"
Legolas closed his eyes and held his son to his chest tightly.
"I know son, I know. But do not worry. We will be all right. Nana and baby are being looked after. Shall we go and see them?"
Niall drew away from him, a curious look on his face. He did not want to see his nana, but it would make his adar feel better and so he would do it.
Eloria guided her son through the door and to the room where her daughter lay, now dressed in a fresh nightgown and as comfortable as she could be.
Legolas stopped dead in the doorway. In his mind he heard the sound of delighted laughter. He saw himself lift his daughter and son into his arms and he saw the excitement on his wife's face as she watched them. But he couldn't remember what she was excited about; he did however remember how her blue eyes lit up when she laughed. Her laughter was sweet and his made his heart leap within his chest. He then watched as he placed his children on the bed and Thalia ran at him, trusting him to catch her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.
The vision faded and he was reminded of the present as Niall tightened his arms around his neck.
The silk of his tunic began to feel constricting and he felt the urge to run.
Feeling his fathers nervousness Niall pulled back and looked him in the eyes.
"Please, I do not want see nana. Please, no adar"
Legolas nodded and turned his back on the room, but he knew that he could not run forever that he could not run forever.
---
The following day dawned with a brilliant sky, the clouds parted and the sun beamed down upon them.
Thalia had been standing in the doorway of Niall's bedroom for an hour before Legolas finally woke from a deep sleep.
He closed his eyes for a moment and turned to look at her, her skin was still so pale. Her hair had been crudely cut so that it now reached her chin. He remember her face the night before as she had sat in a chair as proudly as she could and held the severed strands of her hair tightly in her hands for hours until she could no longer bare it and had thrown them to the ground in a fit of anger.
Her body had been so battered that she couldn't move properly when she had awoken from her sleep. She had said nothing for hours, simply choosing to lay there in silence until she asked Legolas to help her up and take her to see her son. With reluctance he had lifted her from the bed and taken her into their sons room, hoping that seeing Niall would allow her to confront her grief for Eleni.
The little boy had cried at the sight of his mother and Thalia had refused to hold him. The meeting had been hurtful to all but after a long talk Thalia had agreed to see Niall to reassure him that she did still love him. As a husband and father the pain that he was feeling while trying to put his family back together in someway before the funeral felt like a weight on his shoulders. His own feelings had to be ignored; that fact had not gone unnoticed by the King who had left his sons chambers the night before and had immediately began seeing to the funeral arrangements.
Legolas loved his wife but there was too much to deal with and he was suffering. There was nothing that he could do.
And lying there in bed watching his wife stare at their son he felt it more keenly.
She had not responded to anybody normally, the only person whom she had spoken at length with was Glorfindel and the night before, in a moment of unguarded calm she had told him that her adar made her feel safe.
Sighing softly to himself and ignoring the lump in his throat he slipped out of bed. The cool air felt refreshing as he made his way over to his wife. He slid his arms around her gently, making sure that she felt comfortable with his presence before linking his fingers with hers as they lay on her swollen stomach.
"Does he hate me Legolas?"
Her voice shook as she turned to look at him. He shook his head and took both of her hands in his,
"He does not understand. He is too young. Give him time and love and he will soon heal. As we all will"
She nodded, her eyes narrowing as the fear rose in her body,
"When…when is her…when is her funeral?"
Her voice was but a mere whisper and the pain of motherhood hit her. She stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist before wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Legolas I can't watch my daughter be buried. How can I live without her"
It was not a question. It was a warning. He knew that she was fading. But he would not let her go.
His voice was hoarse as he spoke,
"We will bury her at dusk. We will say goodbye and we will wait for her to come back to us"
"Nana?"
Thalia turned as best she could in Legolas' arms to see her son stood in front of her. The elfling looked tousled from sleep and his body was still languid. He looked his mother in the eye and calmly walked toward her,
"Eleni says do not cry. She is happy"
Niall cocked his head at his mother before nodding to himself and returning to his bed.
Thalia cried out and fell to her knees,
"I cannot take this taunting. Take me to see her. Please take me to see her"
Legolas frowned but knelt down and picked her up. A numb calm had settled in his body and he couldn't feel anything. He only knew that the burial would be the deciding point for his wife.
By sunrise she would either live or she would fade and join her daughter in the halls of Mandos.