Putting things to rest

A/N Many thanks to those who have sent reviews and my apologies for having not replied to date but a great and unexpected sadness has come into my life which has left me with little energy. Your comments are much appreciated.

'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.'

Legolas looked swiftly up and towards his father who was standing with his back to the room staring out across the sunlit tree tops.
"Then the worst fear may be set aside, he does not think her to be a creature of Sauron." He said softly. "That must relieve your mind for I know how hard it would be for you had he found differently."
He drew a deep breath and continued before his father could reply.

"How hard it would be for us both if he had so found. I do not know what I would have done had I discovered that I had hurt you as I did in the defence of one who was an ally of the enemy. My sins of that day are great enough, but that weight .. well I do not know if I could have borne it."

"I know." The king replied quietly and without turning, "that has been constantly in my mind since the possibility of something of that ilk first occurred to me. Risking Mithrandir's judgement was the only way to lay those fears to rest, hard though it was. Believe me I thank the Valar that he found the fear unfounded, for I see no reason to doubt his judgement. That part of the matter at least may end here, and with such an ending there is nothing more for me to do. She will remain in Dale, at least for as long as Bard is willing to permit it, and so far as Dain causes no difficulties."

Legolas nodded, sadness driving the relief from his eyes.
"Will she ever be able to return? To be kept from so much that is dear to her is hard I'm sure.
His father sighed softly.
"I do not doubt it, and that is not the sum of what will be hard. The lives of Men are short, those she knows will seem to pass away quickly, something she does not understand, cannot imagine, as yet for she has never lived beside them. I well remember the shock and grief involved in learning the reality of the difference between the first and second born. I will shelter her from it as much as I can, but there is only much that can be done if she seeks to involve herself with the people of Dale beyond my house."
He sighed again.
"But as I have said before the choice of her return does not sit with me alone. I have already broached the matter with the law givers and the Council and they were of one mind, she cannot return until our people consider she has served a fair punishment and will accept her back. There is no way of saying when that will be. The time may come when the fate of Men means that another way will have to be found and perhaps then some return to our Realm or some other Elven land will be possible."

He smiled sadly at Legolas and gently shook his head.
"This is of her creation and cannot be changed by any action on our part. It was her blind certainty in her own rightness, her unwillingness to look beyond her own wishes and desires, that led her to where she is and now we all pay the price. Had her threats to me been less blatant, more open to another interpretation, there might have been other ways, but as matters stand there is little option. Her crime was so very particular that no other Elven Realm would succour her, except perhaps Cirdan, but sending her to him would be true banishment. As it is she has the company of those she knows and has news of home. In time she may win her right to return to the forest, though, as I have said, there is no certainty of that; but then there is little certainty for any of us whilst Sauron remains in Mordor."

Legolas nodded his eyes drifting down to the letter still gripped in his hands. He had left the river settlement at dawn, the knowledge that it had been delivered spurring him to return to his fathers' Halls though the feasting of the new trees was still continuing. He had greatly enjoyed the night, the songs and the dances, the feeling of being part of his peoples' lives again, but as the sun rose he had felt a sudden urge to know the wizards judgement and so he had left his companions and set off alone. Now it seemed that the thing that he had most feared had not come to pass, but then nor could it be that simple for the letter was too long for that. His eyes ran over the important sentence again before he looked up towards his father once more.
"Yet from the length of this letter I judge that he had more than a simple answer to report, may I read the rest?"Thranduil inclined his head in agreement.
"Yes, I would hide nothing of this from you for I know the pain it has already cost. But be warned, some of the contents you might find… difficult to read, as I did."

Legolas nodded in silence and resumed reading, yet the silence did not last long for the king heard a sharp intake of breath and then a sigh before his son spoke again, his tone one of horror crossed with despair.
"He warns you to be on your guard around her, he thinks she remains a threat to your safety! How can that be? The dwarf is dead and it was only the madness of her fancy for him that drove her to such actions."
Thranduil was silent for a moment then he gave a short shake of his head and turned towards his son,
"Was it, are you sure of that? I am not. It is true that her behaviour with the orc suggested that her interest in the dwarf had pushed her beyond all restraint and yet I am not sure even that explains her conduct. For how did she expect abandoning her post to aid him if she believed what the orc said to be true? If she accepted that as truth then she believed, as I did, that the dwarf was already dead or very soon would be. Certainly that he was beyond her help.
He frowned suddenly.
"Though it is also true that despite all my battles with the foul creatures and their masters in the past I had never before heard of a morgal shaft, a morgal knife yes, but not a shaft, nor does it occur in any Lore that I can find. Just one more strange and ill fitting element in this sorry matter, but it is something I shall ask more of Elrond when he arrives for if the creature did not lie and such things exist then we need to prepare ourselves against them."
He shrugged the thought away and returned to the matter of Tauriel.

"But having heard the creatures' words on the matter why then did she leave as she did? To aid Thorin and his other companions? To assist the people of Dale? Why when she had no interest in them, nor any concern for them that I have seen evidence of? Perhaps she did not believe what the creature claimed about the dwarf, though she gave violent indications of doing so as you will recall."
He met his sons' worried eyes with a faint smile.
"But if she didn't believe it what spurred her hurried departure? She did not know that I intended to seal our borders, nor had the dragon been woken. No, her conduct was strange in too many ways and for that and other reasons Gandalf feels that there is something amiss with her beside her interest in the dwarf, and I am inclined to agree with that. If you read further you will see that he says more on the matter."

Legolas drew a deep breath and returned to reading, not looking up again until he had read down to the final salutation. When he did look up there was a frown on his brow.
"A shadow within her, I wonder what that means for I have never felt it."
Catching the fleeting look that clouded his fathers face his frown deepened.
"You have then, and have some sense of what it might be, as I think you have some insight into why she still might threaten you. Am I correct in that?
The king inclined his head.
"Yes, but I cannot say whether my reading of her is correct or a reflection of my own feelings on that matter and so it is best we say nothing more of it. At least for the present."
Legolas looked at him in silence for a moment before he nodded.
"Very well, but if it should come to a point where you need to be in her company, and on your guard around her, then I would ask that we do speak of it again."

His eyes drifted down to the letter again and he sighed.
"Gandalf believes that she thinks I would defend her now as I did then, I do not see how that can be and I am glad that he does not appear to share that view. We talked on this several times when he was here and I hope that he had come to accept that I never meant to excuse her threats to you, nor condone them when I understood what had passed between you." He raised his eyes to meet his fathers' "I can only hope that you are of the same mind in light of his remarks about her malice."
The king made a hurried and dismissive gesture with his hand but Legolas continued.
"You know my thoughts on the matter of my own conduct that day, but I would say again that I most deeply regret my actions. The broken bow told me that she had threatened you but still I felt I had to protect her. Yet if I had stopped for a moment to reflect I would have known your words were no threat to her safety but a question of her commitment to the dwarf, and a fair one. Why I did not see that then I still cannot answer, any more than I can now say why I thought she had not meant her threats; but be assured I will not make so foolish and grievous a mistake again."
His father made another dismissive gesture.
"I know, my son. Do not berate yourself on that count any more than you have already done."
Legolas smiled faintly and looked back down to the parchment in his hand as he replied.
"Yet it is clear that Gandalf considers that her intent was murderous, and I confess that I came to see her actions in a different light even before I returned home, though perhaps I was less willing to believe it then than now. Gandalfs' words do not surprise me as once they would."
"Often the case with hindsight." His father said with a smile, "one of the more irritating factors of immortality is that there is so much of it."
Legolas's smile widened.
"Perhaps." His eyes returned to Gandalf's words and he frowned again. "But what is this about Dain? I recall you telling me of his anger and threats regarding Tauriel but these words hint at something else. What is this that you both know that might have taught Dain to think before he acts?"

Thranduil sighed slightly and turned back towards the trees as he pondered how to reply.
Legolas knew nothing of Oakenshields' bitter words and accusations after he was captured. Nor did he know of Dain's childish taunting before the mountain or his further insults and anger at their meeting before the funeral of his kin and his own crowning. For the moment it was probably better that remained the case, for Legolas would need to sit alongside Dain at the ceremony of the Battlestone. It would be easier for him not to have to fight that knowledge too at so public an event, for he would be reminded all too harshly of the things he had already come to regret.

Thorin Oakenshield had wreaked as much destruction by his own words as he had by waking a dragon. Thranduils mind drifted back to that evening after the battle, when the cloud blanketed the stars, the snow lay thick on the broken walls and tumbled stones, and all seemed cold and dark. When the poison spread by the madness of Thorin Oakenshield had brought another confrontation and strained the relationship between elf and dwarf further still, much to the wizards' consternation.

They had re-established their camp in Dale and he had returned to his quarters having made the arrangements for the removal of their dead back to the forest. He had been standing at the open tent flap watching the snow swirling in the warm air above the camp fires and wondering if Legolas would follow his prompting and turn north. There were those in the north who would keep him informed of his sons' progress and he had been considering how best to contact them when the sound began to ripple through the camp, the stamp of dwarf boots and the rattle of dwarf mail and the deep growl of one who would have all know his grievances. Dain of the Iron Hills. It had not been a meeting he had expected yet perhaps he should have done for he had seen enough of both Oakenshield and Dain to take the measure of their conduct. Yet still he had been surprised when the dwarf had come storming up to his tent, the wizard on his heels and Bard not far behind, raging that he would not have an elf of any type, king or no, at his nephews' burial rites.

He could recall the weary shadows in Bards face and hear the wizards' protests as they drew closer, the halfling had also been following the dwarf lords wake too, his small good humoured face streaked with tears and his eyes wide with distress. Thranduil remembered the surge of pity he had felt for the little man, recalling his good heart and the brave attempts he had made to avoid the matter coming to a fight. Not that he had ever had much hope of success given the nature of dwarfs in general and of Thorin Oakenshield in particular. Dain had seemed unaware of Bilbos' distress or the weariness of those who followed him and the volume of his protest had not diminished the closer he got. It had been with resignation that he had met the dwarf lords stare as he came to a halt before the guards. With the same feeling that he had signalled them to allow the little party to enter. It had not taken him long to determine that the madness of Thorin Oakenshield was at work again and to end Dains' tirade; for though he might be an impatient and credulous fool he was an honest fool it seemed and he had not shrunk away from the truth when he faced it. The soon to be king under the mountain had left in sombre mood and as chastened as it was probably possible for a dwarf of his cut to be. No he would not welcome meeting the wizard again!

But there was no need for Legolas to know any of that at the moment, though the time might come when it would be best that he did. He waived the question away with a gesture.
"It is of no importance, it is true there was another complaint from him regarding our treatment of Thorin but it was easily shown to be false. Gandalf was present when Dain made his protest and Dain knows that he will recall it and so will not enjoy the prospect of this new meeting. He did not take easily to being proved wrong in front of the wizard that is all that is meant."

Legolas looked at his father with uncertainty, for the response had been slow in coming and there was something in the tone of his fathers' voice that suggested the matter might have been of more import that he wished to admit. But if that was the case then there would be a reason for it and so for the moment he would ask nothing more.
"Will the same be the case when we meet in Dale?" He asked
Thranduils' voice held a weary note as he replied.
"I expect it will be, but Bard assures me that he has agreed to come and play his part in the ceremony and therefore I assume he is ready to set a guard upon his temper and any lingering hostility he may feel. I understand that he thinks well of Bard and will not wish to cause him embarrassment."
"What then of Tauriel, will she be part of the guard at the ceremony?"
"No, that has already been decided and not just on Dains' account. She played no part in the battle and so she will remain at my house whilst the ceremonies take place. Only those who were present on that day, or who stand for them or have some role that takes them there, will be a part of the ceremony or the associated events."

He turned.
"She deserted her post and abandoned her comrades fighting in the streets and on the plain, for those actions alone it is unthinkable that she be included in the homage to those who died fighting the enemy that day. Even she must see that, and if she didn't I am sure that Gandalf pointed it out to her.
Legolas looked at him in distress
"And my right to be there, can you defend that or would it better if I did not attend? I would not cause you further difficulty."
Thranduil shook his head with a slight smile.
"You are my son, my heir that alone is reason for you to be there. Your killing of Bolg marks you as a fighter in the battle, why you were where you were need not be discussed. Even if it were you went to Ravenhill as protector of one of our people, one who showed herself to be in need of protection, and that is all the justification needed. Some might consider it ill judged but nothing more than that."

He frowned his eyes lost somewhere other than the room.
"I still do not understand why one of our warriors needed a dwarf to save her, or why her need resulted in his death. For I would have thought her more skilled in battle than a young dwarf, and one who had a small knowledge of war, for I cannot see where he might have gained it. But then I know little of how matters unfolded, or the chain of events that led to his death, other than that I heard from you.
Legolas shrugged.
"I cannot say why she acquitted herself so poorly that the dwarf needed to die in her defence, but that would seem to be the case. Nor am I sure why he was there when Oakenshield was not, for Gandalf told me that he saw them mount the watchtower together, and that he told this to the halfling. That Oakenshield was on Ravenhill I know, for I saw him.. I saw nothing of events between then and the fight with Bolg that I have not already told you."
"I did not think that you did. My observation was only that I would have expected better of her than what appears to have occurred. But I can understood Dains' fury at the manner of Oakenshields' nephews' death and bore his taunts on the matter accordingly at the time. That will not be mentioned again provided no cause is given, as Gandalf has noted."

Legolas looked down at the wizards scrawling script.
"Yes, I saw that and I will be on my guard against such comments if we are in company. But I do not foresee the matter arising.
"No more do I for it is in all our interests that it should be so. Gandalf will have reminded him that with Sauron returned to Mordor we need to be strong allies if not good friends. Dain has fought enough orc and goblin in the yeas of his Lordship of the Iron Hills not to doubt that."

Legolas folded the letter and laid it on the table
"Then we need not concern ourselves with the matter any more until the time comes to travel to Dale. Let us put it from our minds if we can and concentrate on happier matters. From your comment about the morgal shaft I take it that Lord Elrond will visit soon.Thranduil came back into the room and took his seat, pouring a glass if wine and taking a sip before he responded.
"Yes, he has sent word that he will be here by the last new moon of spring, in time for the last feast before summer."
"Has he said more of why he wishes to come?
"No but the nature of the message precluded any more detail being provided. He will travel with a small party for the path across the mountains offers little danger at the moment. The battle before Erebor destroyed the orc armies and it will be some time yet before those armies can be rebuilt. Without their presence the trolls appear more circumspect in their behaviour than when Gandalf and the Halfling crossed the mountains and any way Elrond will travel only by day."
"He still brings his foster son?"
"Yes, which suggests to me that his purpose in coming is in someway related to the boy.
"But what might that be? Why would he wish to bring a son of Men to visit us?"
Thranduil sat back in his chair and looked across at Legolas.
"Of the line of Isildur however, there might be some reason in that. Elrond may have some belief that his future will be of importance and in some way entwined with ours.
"Isildur! Then he is more a boy than I thought him for he was no more than eighteen when I met him.
"That is the case but it must be in Elronds' mind to return him to his fathers people once he is grown."
"Which makes it yet more surprising that he would bring him here does it not?
"Perhaps, though it is likely that more than twenty springs will pass before Elrond bids him farewell."

There was a musing note in the kings' voice that caused his son to give him a long look.
"I think that you believe there is some import in this visit."
The king nodded and looked up with troubled eyes.
"Yes. I cannot rid my mind of the notion that there is some portent in a descendant of Isidur being in the house of Elrond at the time that Sauron returns to Mordor."