The moment Legolas saw into the hall of fire he stopped dead in his tracks, tugging back on his father's hand with all the might that he had. Expecting this reaction Thranduil had already come to a stop before Legolas even had, and he looked down into frightened blue eyes.
He didn't so much as even glance inside the hall to see who might be watching when he knelt down in front of his son and took his other hand, "We don't have to go inside."
Legolas shifted his eyes from his father's face and back into the hall but then quickly to his father once more. Thranduil pulled him a little bit closer, "The weather is nice we could go play outside, or I'm sure Elrond or Erestor could find us a wonderful book to read, Celebrian also offered for you to come help her make some pies."
The elfling looked back inside the hall with a small cringe, "But they tell stories in there. Ones I haven't heard yet before."
"Tell you what, how about we go sit near the back as far away from the fires as we can?"
Legolas pressed his lips onto a thin line like he did whenever he was thinking hard about something, "Can I sit on your lap, please?"
"Absolutely." The young elfling looked back into the room and back to his father once more with a deep breath, "Are we ready?" The was the slightest of nods and then Thranduil easily tossed his son into the air and caught him, grinning at the shriek of laughter.
Nestling the little prince in his arms, Thranduil covered him with his robe so he wouldn't be able to feel the heat from any of the fires as they crossed the room. Legolas hid his face in his father's shoulder, only surfacing once he had sat down and assured the elfling there were no fires close to him.
Together the two of them listened to the stories for a few hours, Legolas leaning against his father's chest while he very gently played with the elflings in an effort to keep him calm and lull him into sleep. Occasionally at some of the scarier parts, Thranduil would gently tickle the back of his neck or blow a raspberry on his cheek to distract him.
Many of the residents of Imladris continued to sneak glances at the two of them, for this was the first visit Legolas had ever made to the valley and after a week of being here the elfling had finally entered the halls of fire.
As the night began to wind down, and Thranduil was about to prepare to take his son to bed Glorfindel approached them from where he had been sitting with Elrond and his family, "Is it alright if I join you?"
Thranduil had always been fond of the balrog slayer, "By all means."
Glorfindel nestled himself in one of the plush chairs nearby, his attention on the tiny elfling, "Would it be alright with you if we have a little talk, Legolas?"
Uncertain eyes looked up to his father who nodded in encouragement, like his father Legolas quite enjoyed the Balrog slayers company. Especially because he had taken him for many rides through the forest around the valley and spent many sunny afternoons playing in the gardens with him while his father was busy with Lord Elrond, so Legolas nodded his head.
"Fire is really scary, isn't it?"
Out of instinct alone, the elfling shifted how he was sitting to hide the obvious burn scars on his feet, and gave another nod followed by the world's softest, "Yes."
"And sometimes it really hurts, doesn't it?"
Legolas gave another small nod, nestling farther into his father's arms as the king adjusted his grip so that an arm was across the elflings shoulders and chest, "Yes."
"I'm scared of fire too." Legolas didn't look convinced, "No really, I am. Unfortunately, I don't have an Ada as good as yours to protect me from them."
Thranduil pressed a kiss to his sons head, reliving his own memories of that terrible night as his son responded, "Is it from when you fell with the Balrog?"
"Yes, it is. I don't think I will ever forget how scared I was."
Legolas dropped his gaze down to where he idly played with a corner of his father's robes, "Me either."
The king took a deep and steadying breath, Glorfindel briefly glanced into his eyes to see if Thranduil wanted him to stop. Aside from a few tears glistening gently in his eyes, Thranduil seemed relatively okay with what was happening, "But you don't have to be scared of it all of the time."
The elfling frowned at him like Glorfindel had told him something completely impossible, "Are you scared of candles, Legolas?"
"No."
"Why not?"
He looked back up at his father for a moment, and then back to Glorfindel, "Candles can't hurt me, and they give light so it isn't so dark, and without them, Ada wouldn't be able to read stories to me."
"You're right, they can't hurt you. And neither can the fires in here."
"But they're bigger."
"Yes they are, but just because something looks scary doesn't mean that it is." Again, the elfling did not look convinced, "Is your Ada scary?"
His nose crinkled with laughter, "No! Ada isn't scary."
"Some elves might argue otherwise, just like some elves aren't afraid of fire and some are. Have you ever seen or heard of fires in hearths hurting people?"
Legolas thought about it for a moment, "No."
"Have you ever seen one hurt somebody?"
The elfling shook his head, "No."
"No. Do you know why the fire hurt you and me?"
He shook his head again, "No."
"Because dark and foul creatures made it hurt us, made it do things it usually doesn't do. Are you afraid of water?"
"No."
"But it can't hurt people too."
Legolas looked a bit offended, he loved to go swimming, "Only if it's really deep, or really fast, or if you aren't careful."
"And unless it comes in the form of a Balrog, fire can only hurt you if there is lots and lots of it or if you aren't careful. You look like a pretty careful elfling to me."
"Ada says I need to listen better, though."
Glorfindel suppressed a grin, "You can learn to listen the same way you can learn not to be afraid of fire all of the time: practice."
Wide blue eyes wandered over to one of the closest fires and then quickly away again, "But how?"
"You start small, you keep trying over and over again even if its hard. How about tomorrow night we all sit just a little bit closer to one of the fires by Elrond, he loves to tell stories if you ask him nicely. Do you think you can do that, Legolas?"
He thought about it long and hard for a moment, "I can try."
"Good, that's all anybody can ask of you."
The three sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Legolas gave one of the biggest yawns Glorfindel had seen in a while. Thranduil pressed another kiss to his son's head, "On that note, I believe it is time for us to go to bed."
"Goodnight, Lord Glorfindel." He sleepily muttered as his father stood from the chair they had been nestled in, for once not objecting to bedtime.
"Goodnight Legolas, sweet dreams."
Glorfindel couldn't help but smile at the valiant effort the elfling put in to not hiding his face on the way out of the hall like he had done on the way in - even if he didn't last all the way to the door.
….
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