Out of Mirkwood

Scribbles-on-Parchment

August 10, 2019

Chapter 5 – Escape

Kélion was sitting at the ornate, wooden desk in his room when he heard a door slam shut. He sighed and put down his quill. Obviously things had not gone well with Legolas as his adar hated when either he or his brother slammed any door. That meant that either his adar or younger brother had left the room in great frustration. With the harsh words that Legolas had said, Kélion figured it was most likely his adar who had done the slamming.

Kélion looked back at the paperwork sitting on his desk. He had been working on it for the next council meeting in a week's time. He knew he needed to finish it, but his mind suddenly refused to focus any longer. Instead of concentrating on the numerous tasks that needed to be finished Kélion kept thinking back to Legolas's angry words. Did his younger brother really mean all that he had said? Or were they truly just spoken in anger?

Lately it had gotten hard to tell what Legolas spoke out of pure frustration versus what he truly meant. Kélion understood his younger brother felt boxed in and yearned for adventure and freedom. The young elf had spent his entire life behind the thick stone walls of the palace and had never traveled more than a day's journey from it. This was a small range for any elfling to be restricted to, let alone a perpetually energetic young Sinda. Legolas had always been rebellious but lately, that rebellion had started to get out of hand.

However despite feeling sorry for his brother Kélion also felt extremely frustrated at the young ellon's inability to understand the reasons behind the rules. Legolas needed to accept the fact that he was safest in the confines of his adar's palace. The only thing that awaited him outside of the Greenwood were darkness, pain, and betrayal, yet the young prince was too naïve to accept this.

Realizing that he would get no other work done in his current state of mind, Kélion stood up and frowned at the large stack of papers that demanded his attention. It was times like this that he hated being the crown prince. The amount of responsibilities that had been laid on his shoulders could be overwhelming at times. On top of that he had gotten very little done since leaving Legolas to his adar's wrath.

Kélion walked away from his desk grumbling at his brother for ruining what could have been a very enjoyable and productive day. He opened the door to his room and stepped out into the hall. Maybe all he needed was a breath of fresh air in the garden to clear his mind.

He started walking down the hall but stopped abruptly when he saw his adar leaning against a nearby. The usually imposing ellon now stood with his head in his hands looking utterly defeated. Kélion could not remember ever seeing him look like this. He put a hand on the Sinda's shoulder.

"Adar?"

Thranduil looked up at the sound of his oldest son's voice. The normally icy blue eyes of the king were now deep pools of sorrow and guilt. He looked at Kélion and said quietly,

"I hit him. I raised my hand against my own son in anger. What have I done?"

The prince paled. His adar had hit Legolas? How could he have hurt him? Wasn't Legolas the very one he was trying so hard to protect? He wanted to run to the elfling's room and see his brother. What had the young eldar said to get this reaction from his adar? Kélion felt anger begin to well up inside him.

"I must go and speak with him," Thranduil said, too ashamed at his actions to look at his eldest son, "Ai Valar! What has happened to me that I should hurt my child both with my words and now my hands as well?"

Kélion desired to know this as well. He remembered growing up with an adar who would take him on rides in the forest and help him with his bow. An adar who had always been kind and patient; however, that had been nearly 4,000 years ago. Instead Legolas had grown up with an adar who was cold, distant and quick to anger. The loss of his wife had affected Thranduil more than he would ever admit.

The king started to walk back towards Legolas's room making Kélion scowl. There was no way he was letting the Sinda anywhere near his brother until he had a chance to speak with them both and understand what had happened. He put his arm out stopping Thranduil in his tracks.

"Adar, I do not think it wise to go and see Legolas just yet," he said as calmly as he could, "This action was done out of anger and I think it wise for both of you to take the time to calm yourselves and gain control of your emotions. I fear that going in there now will only make things worse."

In truth Kélion worried that another confrontation between the Sindar would lead to the same, if not worse outcome. He wanted to hear his adar's side of the story before going to see Legolas or letting Thranduil anywhere near the younger elf.

"How about you come with me. I shall have some wine brought up and you will tell me exactly what happened."

The two ellyn walked away from Legolas's door unaware of how much they would come to regret this decision.

Legolas didn't move for several long minutes. He lay on his bed, face pressed into the cool fabric letting a few tears slide down his cheeks and wet the sheets beneath him. His face still smarted, a clear reminder of his adar's hatred toward him. Angry thoughts began to once again fill his mind.

Why didn't his adar save his naneth in the first place? Why wasn't it him who was left behind to die?

Legolas felt furious and hurt by the ellon'swords. He pushed himself up from his bed and quickly wiped away the few tears he had let escape. His adar could return at any minute and the last thing he wanted was the eldar to see were signs of weakness. He would not let his adar think he was beaten.

The young prince looked back at the crumpled sheets where he had been laying. He frowned when he saw a small crimson stain standing out against the white fabric. The elfling remembered the scratch on his neck from the arrow. He had completely forgotten about it and was surprised his adar had not noticed and panicked at the sight of blood on his son.

That's because he doesn't care about you anymore, Legolas thought, why would he care about something he regrets?

The young Sinda cast one another irritated look at the blood before walking into the washroom that stood adjacent to his room. Legolas stopped at the mirror to inspect his neck. It was a small cut that was only skin deep and had already stopped bleeding. A dried trickle of blood had run down his neck and created a small stain on the blue collar of his tunic. He groaned. He had been extremely lucky his adar hadn't cared enough to notice.

Satisfied the cut was not going to bleed anymore, Legolas let his eyes drift up to his cheek. The red handprint was already fading leaving the skin smooth and unblemished as if nothing had happened. However he knew that the bruise it had caused on his heart was going to take a lot longer to fade away.

The young elf quickly splashed water onto his face to wash away any tell-tale signs of tears. He then wet a rag and gently washed away the dried blood on his neck. Once it was clean, the scratch was less obvious but it still stood out red and irritated against his pale skin.

The Sinda stepped out of the washroom and walked over to his large wardrobe. Legolas looked at the numerous expensive clothes that hung inside before he pushed them all aside and pulled out a pair of tan legging and a light green tunic. He quickly changed, leaving his soiled clothes in a heap on the floor.

Legolas checked one last time to make sure the cut had not opened back up before picking up his quiver and strapping it onto his back. The elfling grabbed his cloak and walked to the door of his room.

He needed to get out of the palace. Whenever he was agitated Êmand would take him out into the woods and let him practice with his bow to help him burn off anger. Maybe this was all he needed to help him calm down. However, his mentor was not there to take him out of the palace so he would just have to go by himself. Legolas wasn't sure how much more trouble he would get into, but he found he did not care anymore. He was way beyond that.

The young ellon quietly closed the door to his room. Thankfully no one was in the hall. Legolas felt relieved but also disappointed. He had half hoped to find Kélion waiting for him.

See, even he doesn't care about you, a voice said scornfully in his head, he doesn't think you are worth waiting for.

The young ellon shook his head trying to silence the voice, but the damage was already done. Everyone thought he was weak, a coward, a mistake. The young elf hardened his heart against the tearing words and crept down the hall, back towards the front gates and freedom. He just needed to get out of the restricting cold stone walls and let his temper calm down.

Then, he told himself, I will face the consequences.

Getting to the gates was the easy part. The halls were always virtually empty and today was no exception. Legolas had gotten a scare when he saw his adar's personal guard striding towards him. The young prince had already started to prepare an excuse thinking he had been caught, but Thalion had just hurried past him a cup of red wine in his hand.

No doubt the wine is to help calm adar down, Legolas thought with a shake of his head.

He didn't see anyone else until he reached the Welcoming Hall at the gate. This was always a busy place with guards and patrols coming and going. Legolas paused at the doorway to the hall and pulled the hood of his cloak up to hide his golden hair. It was a dead giveaway. Every ellon and elleth knew that the only eldar who had such hair were the Sindar; the only Sindar in the realm were that of the princes and king. He knew that if he were caught leaving without any escort the guards would notify his adar immediately.

The hood in place, Legolas quietly stepped into the hall. He thanked the Valar that a hunting party had just returned with a large catch of venison. The gates were wide open as the ellyn brought their catches into the palace. No one paid any attention to the hooded figure who walked quickly to the gate before slipping out.

Once out, the young prince slipped behind a large oak that stood beside the gate. The small clearing was too exposed and the young elf didn't want to test his luck when he was so close to freedom. Legolas quietly scampered into the tree, waiting for his chance. He smirked as he saw the guards still standing watch a little way away, none the wiser. The elfling crouched on a branch watching as the elves took the rest of their catch into the palace.

It felt like a painfully long time until the last of the Silvan disappeared through the gate. Legolas held his breath as the guards did one last scan of the surrounding forest before following their kin into the mountain. The gates shut with a thud leaving the youngest prince of Greenwood alone.

Elvish Translations:

adar – father

naneth – mother

ion nín – my son