The nature of kings

A/N To those I cant PM, thanks for taking time to review. To all who read, thank you and I hope yiou enjoy it.

p

The clouds piling up in the western sky were veined with pinks and gold by the failing sun when Thranduil made his last amendment to the last parchment and put aside the plans for scouting the mountains to the south. He rose and stretched then crossed the room and stood for a moment before the tapestry of the white stag, his eyes focused on the trees that his wife had stitched so very carefully as she sat waiting for the birth of their child. A faint smile curved his lips and he allowed himself the luxury of a moment to wander in the past. Happy times they had been when he had hoped that Saurons' ambition and hatred might be ended forever and that peace would continue. That he would be able to live in the love of his wife, his child, his people and the forest.

There had been so much hope in the days when his wife had plied her needle to create this peaceful scene, hope that the evil was defeated and they might live untroubled, that he would never again have to lead his people to war. A time when it was possible to hope that the marring of Arda could be repaired and the world would be able to heal.

A hope that had died before Legolas reached his majority. But short though it had been, no more than a few centuries, he still remembered that time with great pleasure; memories that had given him strength in the times when the shadows surrounded him once again.

Eventually he put the memories from him and turned on his heel and crossed to his dressing chamber. He paused for a moment on the threshold as if undecided and then with a small shake of his head at his own indecision he continued into the room. On the far wall there was a linen press, he opened it and pulled out a plain shirt and draped it across the chair against the wall. The next item selected was a pair of light breeches from the chest beside the press, these were laid with the shirt as were a pair of light but sturdy shoes from the rail set against another wall. Swiftly he pulled off his long boots and stripped off his silken tunic and breeches re- dressing in those he had set upon the chair before sitting down and pushing his stockinged feet into the shoes and lacing them tightly around his ankles. Standing again he crossed to one of the smaller wardrobes and took out a jacket set with the leather armour favoured by the forest guards and a wide belt of plaited vines adorned with two large but empty scabbards; the belt he buckled on and the jacket he laid upon the chair.

He stood for a moment debating his intentions then he returned to the sitting room and lit a lamp and carried back into the dressing chamber pulling aside the curtain that hid the entrance to the small ante chamber to the right hand side of the door. There he set the lamp into the appointed place and opened two of the cupboards that lined the small space. Inside the first were several bows and quivers, in the second were rows of arrows of differing lengths and weights, each one bearing the green and gold fletching of the king of the Greenwood. Thranduil reached in and took the smallest of the bows and a quiver full of arrows, then, from a tray beneath the racks of arrows, he selected a pair of long daggers. These he slipped into the scabbards on his belt before he closed the cupboard again. Finally he lifted a small horn from the wall and fastened it to the belt. Leaving the anteroom he slipped on the armoured jacket and picked up the bow and quiver before returning to the outer chamber.

For a while he stood and watched the sun sinking lower his mind wandering across past, present and future, then just before the first star of evening made its hesitant appearance he turned and poured himself a cup of wine and returned to his chair.

Galion entered on silent feet and if he was surprised by the kings' attire he did not show it.
"Is there any you would have me call Sire?" he asked, though he was well aware of the answer he would receive.
The king took another sip of wine.
"No need, they know."

xxx

Estel looked at his foster father in confusion, the firelight setting shadows in his face that for a moment added half a century to his years, showing the face of the man the youth would one day become.
"The nature of kings?" he queried uncertainly unconsciously following Elrond in keeping his voice low. "I do not understand, what is that to me or to the purpose of this visit? I know that Lord Legolas father bears the title of king, but is that cause for your gravity when I am well acquainted with noble elves? I would hope that you can rely upon my conduct towards any I call host." His mouth curved in a rueful smile, "not that I expect him to have much to say to me. Why would he?"
Elrond echoed the smile and patted the young mans arm.
"I have no fear of your manners Estel, nor of your intentions, for I know you too well to think that you would fail me there. But there are things beyond that to be considered, matters that there has never been reason for us to speak of before, nor for you to think upon, but those things may be vital to the successful outcome of this journey."

Estel looked confused and after a moment of thought he shook his head.
"But how does that rest upon the nature of kings? There are many noble elves in Imladris, they may not bear the title of king but are they so very different? I cannot see why that should be."
Elrond inclined his head.
"No, that is as I thought and it is why we must speak of this now."
He halted for a moment thinking of how best to proceed, debating how best to explain to one who knew so little of the wider world; and one who still knew little of the future hoped for. Finally he decided that the best course was to revisit things talked of when his foster son was younger.

"We have discussed the roles that people play in the past, have we not," he said slowly, "and the fact that we all may play many of them? You know that I am father, husband, teacher, healer and lord and that each of those roles brings different responsibilities and relationships with those around me."Estel inclined his head but the confusion was still clearly written in his face.
"Yes I recall that we have spoken of this on many occasions."
The elf lord nodded.
"Good. You know too that there are times when I may respond to your actions or misdemeanors as your father but that there are others where I must do so as the Lord of Imladris.""Yes."
"Just as you know that things you might say to me in our private chambers with no fear of censure can not necessarily be said to others with the same expectation."

Estel nodded again.
"Yes, we have talked of this many times. But why does this cause you concern my lord, what can there be on that matter that I have not learned and must now learn? Is there some part of your past teaching that you think that I have not mastered?"
Elrond shook his head.
"No but there are other roles, ones that we have never had any cause to discuss and these may now become important.".

For a moment there was silence between them, Elrond looked past the youth and stared into the fire and the expression in his clear grey eyes seemed to suggest that his mind wandered in the past. Eventually he returned to the present and spoke slowly and in a low voice.

"Thranduil too has many roles, like me he is elf, father, friend and lord, and in these you may consider him little different to myself or to any of the noble elves you know; and when he is those you may respond to him as you would to me or to Glorfindel or Lindir." He gave Estel a serious look. "But where he is concerned there is more to consider, much more, and it is in those other things that that the danger lurks. For he holds another role and that one sets him apart and makes him unlike any, man or elf that you have known before."
Elrond met his foster sons' watchful eyes with a smile.
"Thranduil is a king and it is the nature of his kingship I would have you understand. For it is in ignorance of that kingship, and your response to it, that you might err; and the consequences of doing so could be considerable."

Estel frowned.
"How does being a king differ from being Lord of Imladris? Is he not the leader of his people as you are of the elves of the hidden valley? Though the name by which you are known is different is it not the same?"
Elrond shook his head, his smile fading."No it is not, and this is what you must understand before we reach the forest."

Estel thought about that for a moment then shook his head and his voice showed his continuing confusion.
"How is it different? For you are of a kings line are you not?"
Elrond inclined his head.
"That is so, but I have never worn a crown nor stood as king to any. But I have lived close to those who did and I understand the weight and power of a crown. I know well the duties the crown places upon those who wear it and how it separates them from those who have never done so."

He paused for a moment gathering his thoughts before continuing.
"It is that weight and that separation from others that you must understand, for if you do not you will find it hard to understand the King of the Woodland Realm and it may influence Thranduil in deciding whether to grant that I would ask of him."
The youth smiled softly.
"If it so important then instruct me and I will do my best to heed the lesson."
Elrond smiled again.
"Very well, the lesson is simple enough and it is this, that when the crown is upon Thranduils' head or when he sits upon the throne of the Woodland Realm or speaks to you as its king he is the Woodland Realm, he is Greenwood. When you stand before him when the mantle of kingship is upon him you look upon the embodiment of his people, when you address him you address all his people and when he speaks then it is as his Realm that speaks. Then he is not just an elf, not even a lord, but all of those who call him king."

Estel frowned.
"Is that not true for you also?"
"No, for though I may speak for the people of the hidden valley I am not them in the way that Thranduil, as their king, is his people. I may be addressed, insulted even, without it being an address or insult to Imladris, but that is not true of Thranduil when he invokes his kingly role. An insult or slight to him then is an insult to his Realm and all those who live within it and he will respond accordingly. This is what I would have you understand. Words or deeds he would shrug off if made to him in private or when he is being father or friend take on a different meaning when you are in company with him as king. Then he will not turn insults or impertinences aside with a careless word for you will have addressed them to his Realm and its people. It is his duty to defend them and their dignity at such times, and he will do so."

Elrond stared into the fire his mind drifting back to Isildur and his fate. His voice became softer and considering.
"At such times you cannot expect him to be as Thranduil the elf or father or lord, nor can you expect him to think and act as you might expect the elf or lord to act. At such times his view of the world and his role within it will be different and he will act accordingly. A king must be wise, measured and far sighted for his words and deeds will echo through the lives of all who call him liege. They may bring happiness, peace and prosperity or their price may be fear, grief and pain, even death. This a good king will not forget, and Thranduil is a good king, indeed given all that has happened in this last age and how his realm has prospered, considering its stability and contentment in the face of threat and loss, it must be conceded that he is a great king."

He met Estels' eyes with a somber expression.
"As such he cannot concern himself only with his own desires, nor just with the things of the moment, but with all who live within his kingship and with the years that stretch away into times horizon; no more can he follow any path without due consideration, however straight and right it might seem at the moment, for the legacy of any act of his might mean harm to his people. That is the weight of a crown and Thranduil has worn it and borne it for a long time."

The young man frowned.
"But what does that mean for me? I cannot think I will have much reason to speak with Thranduil the king."
Elrond gave him a look that he could not fathom and then smiled slightly.
"Perhaps, at least on this visit, but it is important that you understand. When you meet him as king you may find him cool and distant, though I do not doubt he will treat us all graciously and with kindliness. But such manners will be his habit, for when the king meets others in most cases he will be measuring each word, both his and theirs, for its consequences for his Realm and its people, now or in the years ahead. Even where that is not the case he will not forget that the mantle of his peoples' dignity sits upon his shoulders and he will behave accordingly."
He reached out and gripped Estels' wrist.
"I would not have you think this calm, this detachment, means that he is without feeling, or that there is no fire in him, for that would be a mistake."

The elf lord released the wrist he grasped and sat looking down towards the fire he sighed softly
"He is likely to be yet more distant with our party when in public for the sake of the difficulties between us."
Surprise spread across Estels' face.
"Difficulties? Why should there be? I know that that the elves of Imladris have not given King Thranduils' people aid against the spiders, is that your meaning my lord? I have heard Glorfindel speak with some regret on the matter. But has he asked and been refused?"
Elrond sighed again.
"It is something both Glorfindel and I regret but it was not something that we could change without putting Imladris and all who lived there in great danger, Thranduil knows this and has never sought our help in those terms. No, that resentment is nothing beside the difficulties of the past."

The fire cast a glow across his face but even so the shadow of sorrow was easily seen. "You have read the Lore and know that terrible deeds were committed in the past by the sons of Feanor, and that in these deeds too many of the Noldar were acquiescent even when they did not take any part. You will know too that the Noldar elves did not always behave with respect when they came into the lands of the Teleri on leaving Valinor."
He looked across at Estel with a slight smile.
"The Lords and Princes of Doriath who left Lindon and traveled east had little respect for the Noldar and had good reason for their distain. For all that Lord Legolas often describes himself as a wood elf, a sylvan, and may feel himself to be such, he is not. By descent he is of the Sindar, a grey elf, for both his father and mother came east across the mountains. Legolas was born in the Greenwood and so has no personal experience of the events of that age but his father will have done, though he would have been a child at the time. Certainly his own father Oropher knew them well and with great bitterness."

He looked down at his gloved hand and memory clearly weighed heavily on him.
"So Thranduil has no more reason to trust any of the Noldar than he has to trust the dwarfs." He raised his eyes and smiled faintly. "But he is a truly wise king and he will not raise any ghosts of the past if he is given the choice in the matter, nor will he allow any personal feelings to influence his actions on his peoples' behalf. Provided he is given no reason to recall that which is past."

Estel stared at him sombre faced, feelings of trepidation painting a frown in his eyes.
"What then would you have me do? What must I do to avoid giving him reason to deny you what you wish for?"
Elrond leaned forward and gripped his wrist again with gentle fingers.
"Set a guard upon your tongue when in the kings' presence, and do not speak to him hastily or thoughtlessly. Be aware that he must behave in certain ways when he is king and do not seek to judge him for it when it does not accord with your own preference, or attempt to spark some unguarded words from him. Put aside your natural favour for those you have known all your life or their kin. Do not seem to be partisan in matters of the past should they arise, loyalty he will understand and respect provided it is measured and without heated favour."
The youth inclined his head.
"I will do my best to remember your warning, and to give you no cause to regret my presence. Yet I will not hide from you that your words cause me disquiet and the fear that I my fall short of what is needed however much I try. My hope is that the king will take little account of me and make some allowance for my lack of knowledge. I hope that our discourse can be limited to those times you are present, and I may take your manner as my pattern."

Elrond smiled kindly.
"Well, do not be overly concerned for there is time for you to reflect on what we have spoken of, it will be several days still before we meet with Thranduils' guard and in that time we may discuss this nature of kings as often as you feel there is a need. Nor should you fear that any ill considered word you utter will be taken amiss, Thranduil is used to dealing with men, more so than most elves still in the world, and he will understand their youthful failings." He laughed suddenly, his eyes sparkling with mirth in the fire glow. "He is patient more than most too, for he managed to live in some harmony with dwarfs before Thrains' acquisitiveness brought the dragon upon them, or so Gandalf told me, a sure sign of his good temper and forbearance. I expect that he will overlook some transgressions provided they are not too heinous or frequently repeated."

With that Elrond rose and turned away into the shadows to tend to his mount leaving Estel to stare into the fire and wonder what his part in this visit was to be, and what it was that his foster father sought of King Thranduil and how he might help achieve it.

xxx

They slipped out of the palace by the stable entrance, their departure unremarked. Had it been his own choice Thranduil would have gone alone but it was not his choice he was the king and therefore there were some thing he could not do however much he might long to. One of which was to go out into his forest unattended, particularly once night had fallen. No Orc had ever entered the area of the forest he ruled, and he was more than capable of defending himself, but he was the king and putting himself in the path of possible danger and unnecessary battles was something he could not do. He hoped that there would come a time when he would be able to wander alone as he had in the first days of his reign but that time had not yet come. So he was not alone, but the five who accompanied him were amongst his closest friends, elves he had known since he had crossed the mountains with his father, elves that had stood at his back in times of the greatest peril. Elves who knew how to give him the illusion of being alone when he needed it while still being there to provide a ring of steel and arrow should danger threaten.

The stars were brightening above them as they slipped through the woods beyond the river; the trees sang their welcome as the little party passed by, the king feeling his spirit warm at their joy at his being amongst them. As he passed between them he sang a song of his pleasure and gratitude, touching bark and burgeoning leaf with gentle fingers, the slow beat of the trees hearts rippling through him as they responded. In the shadows the rustle of nocturnal life paused as the small party of elves passed and the deer that grazed in the moonlit glades raised their heads and watched until it was clear no danger threatened then they inclined their heads in acknowledgment and returned to their grazing.

The kings' tree was a mighty oak, its spreading branches sheltering a large glade where the bluebells massed in dense waves nodding their heads in the night breeze sending waves of scent to wind around the trees. Thranduils' guard took up positions in the branches of the smaller oaks that clustered around the glade while the king quickly climbed up towards the tree tops until he reached his preferred vantage point. Here two great branches spread out providing a comfortable nook into which he slipped, feeling the smaller shoots mesh themselves to make a platform beneath him, the bark of the great trunk moulding itself to his body a gentle hug that would hold him securely even if he fell asleep or lost himself in the night.

Above him the starlight was cold and clear and Thranduil raised his eyes to his star then he drew a deep breath and sank back into the trees embrace, allowing the light of the stars to take his vision and opening his mind and fea to the spirit of the forest. The life force of the great oak at his back filled him and he followed the light of the stars and the heartbeat of the great oak out into the forest.

xxx

The moon was high above the trees and the stars at their brightest when Thranduil drew a deep breath and began to pull away from the forests spirit, returning slowly and with some reluctance to himself alone and this little moment in time. Yet even as he grieved surrendering the might and wonder of the forests knowing again his heart was glad and his mind eased for the joy of spring moving towards summer was untainted by fear. More than that the trees of the south were returning to the forest mind and the songs they sang were soft and content. He did not know how long this would be so but for the moment the forest was returning to its days of ease and glory, its fingers reaching out into the wider soul of the world which no longer shrank back from its overtures.

The echoes of the pleasure of the doe watching her young gambol, the exhilaration of the fledged night birds in their first hunt and the quiet pleasure of the young leaves in the caress of starlight still hovered in his mind as his sight and hearing resumed its elvish pattern, he never lost them entirely but there was always the feeling of sorrow at their retreat at such times, but leavened by a great gratitude for the gift the forest gave to him.

"My Lord."
A voice same from below him and he looked down to see the upturned face of the captain of his personal guard. He inclined his head for speech was slow to return at such moments as his companions well understood. The elf below him smiled and bowed his head slightly as he continued.
"It draws close to the time we must leave if we are to be back within the Halls at the time you set to dine, and I believe it is my Lord Legolas intention to dine with you. I can send back a message if you wish to tarry longer."
Thranduil shook his head and began to descend the tree his fingers caressing the bark in gentle tanks for the trees care as he did so.

By the time he had reached the forest floor his guard was assembled, and they gathered protectively around him, knowing that at such times he might be slower to respond in his own defence should they be attacked. For a moment he stood staring up at the sky as time and place resettled themselves fully upon him, then he smiled at the elves around him.
"There is no sign of the darkness returned not even in the south." He said softly, "the forest is happy and at ease and it seems that we will have another summer of peace my friends. The summer feasts will be truly joyful and our people will live well and with ease."
He saw the relief and joy fill their eyes and he smiled warmly at them.
"So let us return, for my son awaits me and I'm sure your families will be glad to hear these tidings too and will wish to celebrate them suitably with a dish of good wine."

His companions returned his smile, images of summer feasts beneath the stars, unworried by spiders or dwarfs, drifting through their minds they turned back towards the Elvenkings Halls.