They rode back to the palace together; Jade and Sapphire split and headed toward Sapphire's home while Harune, Onyx, and Thranduil rode on and arrived at the palace at dusk.

Thranduil fell into his bed with a sigh and awoke to a breakfast table flourishing with Nimrethil's biscuits and gravy. After a filling meal, he jogged to meet Yuai and passed Onyx in the halls. He skidded to a halt and exclaimed, "Why, I hardly recognized you!"

Onyx looked over his shoulder, dressed in shining mail. "One must look in style for a meeting with the King. Is ada in?"

"I left him in the family room," Thranduil answered. "If you hurry, there may be some breakfast left."

"If you hurry, you will not be late," Onyx teased.

Thranduil shook his head and ran on. He reached the training fields, alive in the golden sunshine, and bumped into Hyrondal before he reached Yuai.

"Tell me everything!" Hyrondal insisted.

Thranduil grinned. "I will later, but right now Yuai is looking at me like I am a rusty knife."

"And so you are," Hyrondal replied. He held up his hands to halt Yuai. "Check out this killer new move."

Thranduil raised his eyebrows as Hyrondal cartwheeled thrice without hands. "Showoff."

"Congratulations on your foster brother's graduation," Yuai said. "I understand he is leading the expedition into the south; a high honor."

"He leaves in two days," Thranduil answered. "It would be a high honor to me if you would call Onyx my brother. Just my brother."

Yuai's yellow eyes twinkled at him. "As you wish. Now, come, no doubt you are out of shape after days of feasting. Can you recall enough to remember where we left off?"

Thranduil tilted his head. "Of course I remember where we left off. I am not as flighty as that!" He unsheathed his sword.

Two days later Onyx departed from the palace on a road lined with the flowers thrown by the court women and the wishes cast by the villagers and servants for land in the southern territories. Thranduil stood with Natelle and Oropher and waved until his brother and company of warriors resplendent in rippling green cloaks and shining armor disappeared from sight on the wide road south into Mirkwood. He hoped, as Harune hoped, for Onyx's safe return.

A few days later, Jade donned her purple ambassador cloak and departed for the Iron Hills in the company of half a dozen learned council men and a company of warriors. She went without such a splendid show as Onyx, but with a scroll sealed with Oropher's wax and a mission to establish trading relations between Mirkwood and the dwarves of the Iron Hills.

It was with a sigh Sapphire returned home to an empty nest and Harune accompanied her for a short while, while Thranduil stayed at the palace and soaked in the gritty atmosphere of the council chamber until his mind was exhausted and he needed a new journal to record his thoughts.

Onyx returned home several times over the next few years to enjoy wine and glint under the weight of new medals as awards made his breast grow heavy with pins and southern Mirkwood was cleared of more and more orcs.

Medals for courage, bravery, dedication, success—Thranduil lost count of their meaning and number as Onyx's company of warriors grew to include the best fighters around and freshly trained young elves vied to be accepted under his command.

Families moved and settled into the southern territories declared safe as Oropher awarded land to council members and servants who had served him long and faithfully.

On the verge of adulthood, Thranduil prepared to tour the Kingdom. And it was on the eve of his departure Ailunai found him. His relationship with her had deepened and flourished as he shared his feelings with her as much as he did with Harune, who sometimes could not understand the struggles of the young while Ailunai lived the same life as he and could.

Sitting under a bower of roses in the palace royal gardens in the dusk, Ailunai sat down beside Thranduil. "Frightened for what tomorrow will bring?"

Thranduil shook his head. "I fear what I will see, but I know it is what I need to do. Harune will be with me."

Ailunai pressed Thranduil's hand. "I will be here when you return. So will our friends."

Thranduil smiled. "You know I asked you all not to make promises you cannot keep."

"I am glad you asked that of us, of me," Ailunai said. She picked a sliver of grass from the ground beside her. "I have an opportunity to travel; not as a fine lady beside a lord but to learn. A woman came to see me from eastern Mirkwood; her name is Ravia and she is a tree oracle. She said she felt the pull of my connection to the trees from as far as her home. She offered to teach me to deepen my connection to the forest; to be a tree oracle."

"Eastern Mirkwood is a long way from here," Thranduil said. "But you must go, Ailunai. All the tutors in the palace cannot make up for not following your passion."

Ailunai smiled into his eyes. "Thank you, Thranduil. My family has already agreed it is a worthy pursuit and I will miss you with less tears knowing your heart is with me. My heart will be with you too, Thranduil."

"We will see each other again," Thranduil said. "We made a pact, you know, not just us, but Hyrondal and Nimrethil and Jailil too."

"I will hold you four to it until the end of time."

Staring into her blue eyes, Ailunai seemed to loom closer to Thranduil until her breath landed on his cheek. Their lips touched next and joined. For a moment nothing existed but warmth.

"My!" Nimrethil exclaimed. "This is delicious!"

Thranduil jolted back into the cold and saw the girl clasping her hands in delight. "Nimrethil! I—we did not hear you come up."

"Evidently." Nimrethil grinned. She giggled as she sat down on Thranduil's free side and draped an arm around his neck. "Ought I be jealous?"

"I hope not," Thranduil replied.

Nimrethil sniffed. "It is not as if I have ever invited your attentions, but what can one do when one is sought after by the prince?"

"Valar above!" Thranduil exclaimed. "If you have sent me sweets and your best dishes all these years in exchange for my heart, I—"

"Would never be so shallow," Nimrethil finished. "You dear thing, I am not like the stodgy ladies I cook for. Kiss all you like; it is quite enjoyable." She winked.

Thranduil's flush heated his face in the cool air. "I shall miss our conversations."

"Oh, you will soon forget us once you are off on your grand tour," Nimrethil said brightly. She tweaked Thranduil's nose and grinned at the annoyance on Ailunai's face. "But I will have you know, if you run off with some other girl, I will personally hunt you down, strangle you, and burn your body in the ovens."

"Enchanting," said Thranduil sarcastically.

The next day as Thranduil rode out from the palace with Harune beside him and a company of guards trailing flags and cloaks in the breeze, he scanned the gathered elves, looking past council members, servants, even the King and Queen. When he saw them; Ailunai, Nimrethil, Jailil, and Hyrondal, he waved until his shoulder burned and the road began to curve into the forest. Thranduil looked back but could only glimpse the shadowed walls of the palace and only Harune's presence beside him comforted him as he rode forward.

For most people, the world is a beautiful place. For Thranduil, what beauty and ugly truth will he uncover?

Thank you all kindly for reading! I love hearing your thoughts.

Next Chapter: Hyrondal embarks on his first mission.