Gandalfs' Judgement
Day was bleeding from the sky and the bright green of the sunlit leaves had darkened towards grey as Thranduil returned to his private chambers. His mind was calm and clear, his fea soothed by the embrace of the forest and the wonder of that communion. For the first time in a while he felt truly complete, at one with the forest and the music, and not even the knowledge that the darkness and discord would eventually return could dim that joy.
He acknowledged of his guards' salute with a slight smile and a graceful inclination of his head as he strode across the threshold with no hint of care upon his face. The guards pulled the door closed behind him and exchanged looks of pleasure for it was some time since the king's light had shone so brightly. Once he had been one of the brightest of their kind but the years of struggle had paled that light and those who were closest to him had feared that the dark endeavours of the enemy, and the pain of recent events, had taken more from him than could be restored this side of the sundering seas. Yet it seemed that perhaps that had been too gloomy a prediction, for if his light was not yet of the strength of the time before the necromancer came today it seemed restored to that of the days before the battle at the lonely mountain.
In the privacy of his chamber the king was oblivious of the thoughts of those who watched over him but he was aware of a feeling of peace that had been absent for some considerable time. He smiled to himself feeling again the sense of contentment given to him by the forest, his mind and body still alight with the joy of the Greenwood and the energy of the burgeoning spring. Not even the weight of the letter in the pocket of his robe dispelled that and when he remembered it was still unread the realisation brought more a sense of curiosity than of doom. He took out the packet before he slid the robe from his shoulders casting both upon a chair as he crossed to the hidden ledge that allowed him to overlook the tree tops. The night was coming on fast now, for the days were still short, and the sky was a panorama of colour, trails of crimson light fading into pink and misty blue, and high above the kings' tree the first pale star of the evening was showing. Legolas was no doubt well into the feasting by now and his father sent a silent prayer that there would be no stirring of guilt to mar his pleasure in it.
A sound behind him betrayed that he was no longer alone, and there was only one who would enter without first requesting admission. A sudden scent upon the air told him that Galion had brought tea and warm bread and he turned with a smile realising he had not eaten since the previous evening.
Galion inclined his head slightly
"You left early my lord and the evening meal is still some time away so I have brought you a sample of the new bread one of the cooks is trying. It's made with autumn honey and some seeds from the area of the forest that the spiders held for many seasons, it must be nigh on Lord Legolas life time since last we could harvest them. They have been drying all winter she tells me and are only now ready for use. It would give her much pleasure if you would partake of this first batch and declare whether it is good or not. There is some of the last of the winter berry tea to accompany it.
With that he set the tray upon a table and crossed to the hearth to set a light to the tinder already laid there,
Thranduil watched him bustle around for a moment before he turned his gaze back towards the darkening trees.
"If the taste is near as good as the scent it will be worth the wait." He said softly.
"Ay my king and I can promise you that it is for I would not have brought it to your table had I not first made sure that was so."
The kings' smile widened for moment, his back still towards the room, but when he replied his voice betrayed a little of it
"Indeed, I would expect no less of you."
"No, my lord." Galion gave no sign that he heard the hint of humour in the kings' beautiful voice. "I have poured you tea and there is a message from Lord Elrond, or so your clerk tells me, and I have placed it beside your cup, along with the one from the chair."
Thranduil turned then to find Galion behind him holding out another robe, one of his favourites, and he allowed himself to be helped into it. As was usual at such times Galion frowned slightly, being more than a head shorter than his Sindar king he could not smooth the garment across that kings' shoulders in the manner he would wish to without making both of them appear ridiculous and so he had bear the sight of the Thranduil gracefully shrugging the robe into place without assistance. The king, as always, seemed oblivious to the difficulty, or his servants' irritation, and was already moving towards the table and the tantalising scent of tea and warm bread.
The letter lay beside his cup as Galion had said but he let it lie, instead he reached for the small spill of parchment that was Elronds' message and smoothed it out. After a moment he raised his eyes and looked towards Galion who was busy laying out his garments for the evening meal in the Hall.
"Lord Elrond expects to be with us by the last full moon of spring, rooms will need to be prepared for him, his foster son, and his equerry; his guard and horses will also need to be accommodated. Ensure that the keeper of the rooms is informed, house them as close to these apartments as can be managed."
Thranduil laid down the sliver of parchment and reached for the butter spreading it thickly on a slice of bread as he continued.
"He plans to travel quickly and as light as possible and so his entourage is unlikely to be large. There should be little difficulty in providing accommodation for them and I expect that most will prefer to be housed within the forest, Elrond will not need a guard whilst he is here, not with the shadow of the enemy gone for the moment, and so there can be little reason for them to remain at his side. If any chose to dwell with him within the Halls it can be so arranged when they arrive."
Galion just inclined his head schooling his face to blankness, hiding his curiosity. The king was unlikely to speak of the reason for this visit to any but the closest of his advisors, if then, and so he would have to wait until the party arrived to discover the reason why the Lord of Madrigals, who had never visited in all the years of their struggle with the enemy, should now find the need to travel east.
He cast a quick look over the robes he had laid out, satisfied they were suitable for the nature of the meal and the season he reached forward to smooth a possible crease from the end of the silver green robe before he moved towards the door. He turned to bow as he prepared to depart to his own pantry and his portion of that delectable bread.
"Dinner is being served in the Willow Hall this evening my Lord if that meets with your approval."
The king looked up from buttering his next slice of bread and nodded.
"Very well, but I do not expect my son to return from the river before the morrow, if then, so there is no need for his place to be set. I will join the hall at the third bell of starlight. In the meantime tell the guard that I do not wish to be disturbed."
"Very good my lord, do you wish me to bring wine?"
Thranduil waved the suggestion away with an elegant gesture, the cup still in his hand.
"No this excellent tea will suffice, and pass my thanks and complements to the bread cook for it is all that she promised. We must make sure that we have some ready when Lord Elrond arrives. You may go now."
Galion bowed again his mind already on his own tea.
"Yes Sire."
Then he hurried away.
Alone again Thranduil finished his tea in quiet contentment, the wizards' letter still unread beside his plate. Only when the pot and plate were empty did he reach for it, opening the packet with care and smoothing down the sheets with a gentle hand. For a moment he hesitated staring up at a tapestry on the wall before him with a faint frown, wondering what new trouble might lie in his hand. That there was scope for trouble he did not doubt, Legolas had still not made peace with himself on the matter of Tauriel and Dale but he had made some progress towards acceptance since he had returned home in the dark days of winter still hurting and adrift, and his father would not see him pulled back into that black reverie again. Not that he had any intention of hiding the letter but he wished to prepare himself for whatever further distress it might hold. If the wizard had found against her then it would smite Legolas to the heart, not because of any feeling he had for her, Thranduil was still not sure how much of that remained, and prayed that it was little, but because he would see the nature of his own actions in another, and harsher, light.
He reached forward and touched the white stag in the foreground of the wall hanging with a gentle finger, memories flooding his mind, this scene had been stitched by his wife as she waited for their son's birth and as she watched over the first weeks if his life. He wished with all his heart that she was here now but he had walked with her in his dreams beneath the great beech and felt less lonely than he had for some time, and for the moment he was sure that he knew how she would have advised him.
Yet he as looked down at the letter again a sense of sudden impatience and anger took hold of him, anger that, for all his attempts to put the matter behind them, Tauriel still troubled them in this manner. That even now she might open up the wound again and draw fresh blood, for he was not fool enough, nor fond enough, to believe that the possibility of further hurt was passed. He looked up towards the tapestry again and the anger faded away to be replaced by a sense of sad resignation, he had done the best for her that he could but it seemed that it had not been enough.
Yet he couldn't say where he had erred, for he had taken her in to his house when she was alone and bereft of hope and too young to know the sum of her loss, he had cared for her needs, loved her without trying to be to her those she had lost, taught her and played with her and given her a place of respect from where she could make her own way as she would. There was nothing that he could have done that he had not, at least as far as he could see; and when it had become clear that matters were not as they should he had still sought to find a way for her. For all her foolishness he had not put her from him until the time she had left him with no choice. He smiled sadly at the tapestry hearing his wife's tart words on the matter within his head; if he had made a mistake it was in not curtailing her growing arrogance or her influence on Legolas as soon as he should have done. But he had not expected such an influence nor had there been reason to given that Legolas was an adult before she arrived, nor had he considered that his son would prove unable to see past his fondness to her faults. However there was no point in berating himself for that now; he smiled at the white stag again, nor was there any point in delaying this chore any longer.
With a sudden desire to be done with it he smoothed the paper again and began to read but not in his usual precise and ordered way, now his eyes raced ahead, scanning the sprawling lines and elaborate script rapidly without fully digesting the contents, looking for the words that would tell him what manner of judgement to prepare for. If the Istari had found against her then a way forward would have to be found, though he doubted that there was anything in Lore that might help him. Elves were loyal and the nature of the firstborn meant that their Lords were just, even those few that were not particularly wise. Long memories and their love of kin and the world meant that the cruelty and greed so often seen amongst the lords of men were largely unknown in Elven realms, and actions such as hers were without parallel since the first age. Even there the precedents for her murderous intentions were uncertain, so it was probable that there was nothing that could provide guidance.
He frowned as he read on. If the judgement was of the worst then she would need to be brought back to the forest however he decided to proceed, for in such circumstances he could not leave her free. It seemed she could be destined for the same cell that the dwarf she had become so strangely and abruptly enamoured of had so fatefully occupied.
He paused for a moment and looked back to the tapestry, his thoughts suddenly dark with the shadows of an earlier age. But such conduct not entirely unknown amongst his people, for there had been those amongst the Noldar whose sins far surpassed any committed by his treacherous elf, or a lord of men. Those who had slaughtered their kin for a bauble, who judged any who had not crossed the sea as beneath them, lesser elves over whom they could assume command at will. Was that some part of it; did the blood of the kinslayers run in her? He knew of no Noldar within the Greenwood but it was possible that some stray follower of Feanor's cursed brood had found their way here, hiding from their guilt beneath the trees. Perhaps such a poisonous inheritance was a possible factor in her conduct, but those who might have known were gone to Mandos some time ago..
He pushed the thought away and turned his mind back to the letter in his hand, if Mithrandir had not found against her, or was undecided, then the matter would wait until the summer and his visit to Dale. In that case perhaps no action would be required of him at all beyond that he had already taken. He began to read again, this time with more patience and attention.
He drew a deep breath as his eyes alighted on the words he had been looking for, finally recognising them for what they were.
'My Lord Thranduil it is my regret that I cannot give you the ease if mind you hoped for, yet nor do I have that grave news to share that perhaps we both feared in our hearts."
Thranduil paused for a moment hoping that those words meant what he thought they did, his eyes going back to the tapestry in a silent appeal. The word 'courage' seemed to echo in his head and he returned his gaze to the letter.
"I have spent some time in conversation with your assailant, at the cost of some discomfort to both of us I may add, and have given her justification of herself and her actions much thought. It is with some considerable relief that I can report that I neither saw nor felt any presence of the darkness of the enemy within her, nor of that particular malice that is his alone. I could not sense anything of his abiding hatred for the world in her, nor is her mind tainted in the manner I would expect were she corrupted by the dark one. I can say this with some confidence for I did not spare her, indeed I pressed her and provoked her in a manner most likely to draw out the venom of the enemy if it had entered her, and though she was angry and distressed by my words her responses gave me no sense that she was so tainted. Though I cannot state for certain she is in not in the enemy's thrall only that I felt none of it, and I have known the shadow long enough to believe I would do so. As you too felt no sense of it when she was in your presence I think we should proceed on the premise that whatever her sins she is not a creature of Sauron, at least not at this time."
Thranduil sighed, a sense of relief flowing through him as he raised his eyes once again to the watching white stag with a smile. It was as he had hoped, and he was content to take Gandalfs' judgement as right, for if an Istari could not tell the presence of the enemy in another then who could? Without that certainty, and with no evidence of her alliance with evil, there could be no reason to seek further punishment or confinement for her. She would remain in Dale, his judgement on her would stand as it was, Legolas was to be spared the pain of her being brought back here in greater disgrace, spared further questioning of his own actions.
His eyes narrowed suddenly, but what did that 'at this time' mean? There was another sheet packed with Gandalfs' sprawling hand and so there might be more to be considered, drawing a deep breath he resumed reading,
"Yet I remain uneasy about her, very uneasy, for there is something deeply wrong with her though I cannot truly say what it is that makes me feel this with such certainty. However I do feel it and I would counsel you most strongly to harden your heart against that lingering pity for her that I sensed within you when we spoke of this and resist any desire to return her to the forest, however many centuries have passed. Having talked to her at some length I am left with the feeling that she cannot be trusted, moreover I would caution you to be on your guard if you are caused to be in company with her for there is some malice in her of that I am now sure. Yet that does not alter my opinion of her independence of the enemy for I think her malice to be more personal and petty than that that lives at the heart of the creatures of the dark one. Much though it may pain you to hear it appears, if I read it rightly, to be directed entirely towards you."
Thranduil looked away from the words and stared towards the fire without seeing it. It was as he had expected and yet that made it no easier to read, he had known since the meeting in Dale that some part of her rage belonged to him alone and was not as a result of his words to her at that time, and that nothing he could have done would have changed it. He could have sent a hundred elves to die for her dwarf and that anger would not have been lessened, nor would her bitter determination to tear Legolas from his father and his people. Yet still the pain glowed anew on reading anothers words on the matter and he drew a deep and steadying breath before he returned to Gandalf's script..
'As I have said I questioned her at length and on all matters of the events of the battle and her actions in Dale. She had few answers and fewer explanations for the charges I laid at her door and yet I believed her when she claimed there was no plan, nor firm purpose in her actions. I pressed her most strongly on what drove her down the path she took, of her desertion of her post, her demands of aid for the dwarf and why she challenged you and drew an arrow upon you. Beyond this I showed to her how all those actions might be viewed by others, not just the last, and she seemed most surprised at the interpretations, and having observed her closely I consider that her surprise was genuine and in no way dissembled.'
Thranduil paused again in his reading. Yes, he could picture that, he could imagine the confusion and disbelief on her face as the wizard harried her on the matter, that others' judged things differently had always surprised her, particularly where her own wishes and ambitions were concerned. He recalled again her look when he had reprimanded her on her desire to assault Dol Gulder, that there could be a consideration that was contrary to her own inclinations had first astonished her and then affronted her, he imagined that her response to Gandalfs' questions would have been much the same. With a sigh he looked back down to the letter.
'I gave no quarter I assure you, pressing her on what she thought and felt as much as what she did, yet the questions seemed to bemuse her and her answers were cursory, as if she had not given any thought to the cost of her demands or actions, or indeed to anything other than her own feelings of the moment. It is my reading of the matter that she lacks an honest awareness of the causes of her actions where these deeds are concerned, but the suggestion that she might have been used by Sauron, even unwittingly, filled her with a horror that I would swear was real. But as I have said I am not easy for there is something there that is not as it should be. For she does not feel to me like an elf, for all she looks like one and speaks as one, but I find it hard to explain why that is so.'
Thranduil paused again his brows drawing down into a frown. Though he had never put such words to it he had long had a similar feeling about her, there had been many times that he could recall when he had felt that she was some changeling sent amongst them with the form of an elf but not the spirit or mind of one. He had chided himself for the thought and had set her oddities down to her age and the circumstances of her abandonment. Yet now he wondered if there was something more to it after all for he had not mentioned such feelings to Gandalf when they spoke of her and yet the wizard too felt the discord in her. With a sense of heightened concern he resumed reading.
'Nor is that the only cause of my concern. Whilst I absolve her of alliance with the enemy I had the strong sense of some shadow within her; though I cannot read its source or objective. Though she professes regret at her actions as soon as the matter is raised, and some of this regret I judge to be real, when her guard is down it is clear that much anger and bitterness still burns within her. I confess that as our conversation progressed I found myself unable to trust her words. Not that she lies, for I think that she believes all that she professes to be the truth, at least in the moment that she says it. Yet still there is something which makes me doubt her real meaning, something behind her words that I cannot quite fathom.
As for Thorins nephew Kili, well, like you, I doubt that she truly loved him, and I believe that she might be coming to see that, which might of itself make her dangerous. Indeed I had the impression that she didn't see or understand who he was at all, indeed there were times when I wondered if she even saw him as anything more than a dwarf, as anything real even. There too I feel a simmering resentment towards you, one that may lessen as she understand better the nature of her own heart, or that might do the opposite and worsen over time.
For these reasons I would have you be on your guard when you are near to her, nor to discount the threat she might yet present to your safety, for it was not clear to me how much of this she knows of and how much of her spite she is blind to. There was something of the child about her, something that belies her years and training that I found strange and unlooked for in an elf. It might yet lead her to lay the blame for her loss of her love upon you. I know that you will come to Dale in the summer and that it is your intent to bring your son with you. It is at that time I think the danger will be greatest for though it grieves me to say it I think she still believes that Legolas would defend her should she seek to take some action against you. I know this to be untrue, for I have seen his grief and guilt at his foolish conduct of that time for myself, but she has not and might yet expect his actions to be as they were then.'
Thranduil set the paper down upon the table with another sigh and got to his feet crossing the room to look out at the rapidly advancing night and the deepening shadows of the trees. He did not doubt the wizards' assessment for he had been aware of that childish element within her for some time, just as he had known that something was not right in her make up. Such a strange mix she had been even before the dwarf came, yet his son had seemed blind to it, or unworried by it.. One of his greatest fears had been that Legolas would make some declaration to her and that she would accept him. Her denial of his sons' growing tenderness for her had irritated him in its manner, for they had both known it was dishonest, but it had reassured him, for if Legolas had approached her and she agreed to a bond then there would have been nothing that he could have done to prevent it. His son was of full age and the choice of a wife, if he chose to make it ,was his alone. Elven lore did not allow for a parent to forbid an adult child their choice of partner, not even where the parent was a king, and if he had tried to prevent it they would simply have sworn and consummated their vows alone within the forest and told him afterwards. He would have been forced to watch his sons' unhappiness and his further loss of himself, unable to remedy the matter. Nor would it have been good for the Realm. Perhaps he should thank the Valar that matters fell out as they did.
With another sigh he looked back to the letter.
'As for Legolas, I do not think she will seek his company if he is in Dale but I do not fear any harm to him should they find themselves side by side. I would humbly suggest that if they should find themselves in company that he doesn't mention Kili or his fate, or the events in Dale at all if he can so arrange it. There are times when formality can be a boon and I suggest that this would be one of them. She has forfeited any right to be considered his family and though old friendship cannot and should not be put aside easily in this case it is probably best that wounds are left to fully heal before such relationships are resumed. If indeed they ever can be given the nature of her actions, that is for you and he to decide and I will say no more on the matter.
There is nothing more that I can do for the moment my Lord, only to press caution you again. I leave on the morrow for Erebor and another difficult meeting. It is my hope that the weight of the crown has moderated Dains' temper a little and that matters of which is probably better not to speak here, but of which we are both aware, has taught him to think more deeply before he acts. Yet I can well imagine his feelings at knowing I am in Dale and likely to call upon him. I will bear his hostility with what patience I can muster for it is vital that he is reconciled to the past before Sauron once more roars forth from Mordor. From Erebor I will head west for there are matters there that need my eye upon them, it is my view that you will appreciate what they are.
I will end this missive here my friend, saying nothing more but a plea for you indulgence of my penmanship for it has been some while since I have written on matters of such import for such length. I thank you again for your hospitality, pray that the Valar watch over you, and charge you to enjoy such peace as the time grants you O King of the wood for I doubt our next meeting will be so leisurely.
G'
Thranduil folded the letter and crossed to his strongbox, locking it away safely until Legolas returned. As he turned the key he smiled sadly, thinking of that final salutation..
"As do I O wizard of the west," he said softly; "as do I. But let us hope."
