No buts! How to get a healer angry?

"Shall we go and play with our stuffies?" Elrohir asked after a while. Legolas sat with them but had only cuddled with Elky. Elladan nodded and fetched their stuffies. Elladan had a brown horse while Elrohir had a white horse.

"Legolas? Play with us?" Elladan asked as both twins sat down next to Legolas.

"Elky? Will you ride with us?" Elrohir tried to let his voice sound different to make it look like his stuffed horse was talking. Legolas smiled as he put Elky on his four legs.

"Where do we go?" Legolas asked in his 'Elky voice'." Soon enough the three elflings were in a full adventure in the woods, trying to race each other while trying to avoid trees.

"Watch out for that stone!" Elladan called as he made his horse jump.

Celebrían smiled as she watched them play. How she wished that everyone could share this lovely moment. They both tried to cheer Legolas up. If she would tell Erestor and Glorfindel, they would never believe so. Arwen looked up with her big eyes while Celebrían played with her little hands.

Elrond knocked before he opened the door to the study. "Thranduil?" He softly asked after he closed the door behind him.

"Aye?" Thranduil replied and lifted his head from his hand.

"Now tell me what is going on." Elrond sat down on the other side of the desk.

"What do you want me to tell?" Thranduil asked and sat back in his chair. "I am just a bit weary and have a headache."

"I do not believe that would be all." Elrond said while he studied Thranduil's face in the little light. "When was the last time you slept properly?"

"A couple of days ago."

"And where precisely is your headache located?"

"Behind my eyes." Thranduil said and eyed Elrond warily. "It is just something little."

"Then why are all the curtains closed?" Elrond asked before he stood and opened the curtains nearest to Thranduil. The light of day filled the room. It was a clouded day, so the light reflecting from the snow was not too bright. Thranduil in response closed his eyes tightly and proceeded to shield his eyes from the light that his eyelids did not keep out. "Just a little thing?" Elrond snorted as he closed the curtain and sat down again. "I do not want to hear any buts from you. Now tell me what is ailing you, so I can give you something to ease it."

"I do not really think…"

"Have you not heard what I said? Does your minor headache also affect your hearing, mellon-nin?"

"I heard what you said, but..."

"Clearly you have not." Elrond cut him short. "Legolas was in tears when we left here earlier. He is frightened his ada is hurt, and I am afraid a mellon of me is. He was frightened you were sad or hurt, that is why he brought you the strawberry, so he could cheer you up. All you did was sent him away…" Elrond softly said as he went to stand next to Thranduil. "And if you will not do as I say, I will drug you, if you want it or not." Elrond continued seriously.

"I have no appetite." Thranduil responded while he looked at the strawberry where Legolas had put it down.

"Then you could have told he you would save it for later, couldn't you?" Elrond proceeded to open the curtain on the other side of the study, letting in the daylight without the need to squint for Thranduil.

"I… suppose."

"Now let me have a good look at you. Is the pain only behind your eyes?" Elrond asked as he put the chair he just sat in, in front of Thranduil.

"Everywhere if I move. Or with bright light or loud sounds." Thranduil almost muttered.

"All right." Elrond gently took Thranduil's head in his hands. "It does not hurt when I touch you?" Elrond caressed the smooth skin, felt the strong jawline and gently combed his fingers through Thranduil's silver locks, as he felt for bumps. Thranduil eyes did not have their usual shine in them, Elrond noticed.

"If you pull my hair, but otherwise not."

"Goheno nin." Elrond said with a little smile. "Have you been dizzy, or having problems with you balance?"

"Aye." Thranduil looked at his friend. "I become dizzy if I need to stand."

"Have you thrown up, or similar things?"

"Nay."

"I think I am going to get you some tea for your head. But first I will help you to your room." Elrond put the chair back before he helped Thranduil to his feet.

"The tighter your grip won't prevent me from falling if I ever would." Thranduil commented when the hold on his upper arm only tightened. Elrond loosened his grip a bit before they slowly walked back to the king's sleeping room. There he helped him undress and reached out his sleeping gown. Thranduil looked at it but did not take it.

"You have nowhere to go, especially not after you had tea." Elrond said and watched Thranduil pull on his sleeping attire. He helped him out of his boots. "Even though I do not have Legolas to guard you, I still expect you to be in bed after I return." Elrond said with a little smile.

"Fine." Thranduil huffed.

"Good." Elrond said before he left Thranduil and made his way over to the Halls of Healing.

"Ah, Cervus. Have you already found something?" Elrond asked when he entered the Halls of Healing and saw the Mirkwood healer.

"Not so much. Did Thranduil tell you something?"

"Not much more than we already guessed." Elrond filled a goblet half with the tea they set aside and filled the rest of the goblet with the already heated water. "I am going to give him some more tea, so his pain will die down a bit and he will be able to rest a bit. I shall also go and see to that I might give him some more herbs to aid his sleeping every night." Elrond told Cervus before he was on his way back to Thranduil. Elrond did not bother to knock before he entered Thranduil's bedroom. Elrond took a few deep breaths when he saw Thranduil standing in front of the window. He put the goblet on the nightstand before he came to stand behind his friend, overlooking the snow filled landscape with leafless trees.

"You should have stayed in bed." Elrond whispered as he gently touched both of Thranduil's upper arms.

"Elrond." Thranduil breathed. Why had he not heard him enter?

"To bed with you." Elrond directed him back to bed. "Next time I will get Legolas, if you like it or not. He will make sure you stay in bed when I cannot trust your words." Elrond made sure that Thranduil was comfortable before he handed him the goblet with tea.

"Saes, do not involve Legolas too much."

"Then firstly I should be able to trust your word when you give it to me. Secondly, I cannot keep Legolas from you as much as I would wish too. Legolas loves you very much and I believe he will try to do everything to make you feel better." Thranduil was about to say something, but Elrond quickly continued. "Aye, it might conflict with your feeling that you need to be strong and show him your unbeatable, but no one really is. I know you care a lot for Legolas and that you don't want to see him sad, but I think it saddens him more if I have to keep him away than that he can come with me and simply watch us."

"Do you think so?"

"Legolas is a good child, even so that he might keep those two of mine out of trouble." Elrond chuckled. "Legolas wishes for you to feel good." Elrond showed him the strawberry he picked up on his way back to Thranduil's room. "He even did the puppy look at the cook, so he could take one."

"You want me to eat it?" Thranduil asked when Elrond held out the strawberry.

"It would be a good reward for drinking the nasty tea, wouldn't it?"

"I am no elfling!" Thranduil scoffed.

"You should have thought about that before you disobeyed me." Elrond laughed. Thranduil quickly drained the goblet before he accepted the strawberry. The sweet taste indeed washed away the nasty taste of the tea.

"Hannon-le." Thranduil said when the pain slowly dulled.

"You're welcome." Elrond smiled. "Now go and sleep. I will bring Legolas for dinner." Thranduil merely nodded before his eyes slowly glazed over and closed half. When Thranduil was asleep, Elrond left him be and went to find his family. When he entered the room, he found all three elflings happily playing together as well as his wife playing with his daughter.

"Suilad." Elrond whispered as he leant over Celebrían's shoulder to watch their daughter. Celebrían smiled at him.

"Come and join me." Elrond sat down next to her and took his daughter in his arms.

"Did any of them cause any trouble?"

"Nay, Elladan and Elrohir both did their best to make Legolas smile again." Celebrían smiled. "In the beginning Legolas simply sat there with his little elk, and they decided to go and play with their stuffed animals, that cheered Legolas."

"That is good to hear." Elrond agreed.

"Speaking of Legolas, how's Thranduil?"

"I have to keep a close eye on him making sure nothing serious is going on." Elrond softly said. "He is asleep for now."

"Soon enough all of the remaining Yule festivities will be over. I think it is good that we stay some longer for their sakes."

"I am afraid so. If you like to go back, that will be fine."

"I think it is good that we are able to stay here with us all. I heard that Tegalad was happy with the extra hand Erestor leant him. Although Glorfindel did not like it so much that everyone asks him again and again to tell stories of the slaying of the balrog and Gondolin itself. Maybe with your consent he could join Hérion's and Deawin's patrols."

"Maybe they could indeed use the extra hands if indeed Thranduil would turn for the worst." Elrond said while he played with little Arwen. Alas, he had not noticed the three elflings had stopped playing to listen what the grown-up elves had to say.

"Besides, I think that Elladan and Elrohir provide an excellent distraction for Legolas." Celebrían continued. She looked at them to find three small faces looking at them. The twins looked rather confused while Legolas' face turned sad yet again.

"Ada caleb?" Legolas asked. Elladan and Elrohir only understood little of what was going on, but what they really understood was, Legolas was sad, and they did not like it. Elrond watched as his sons crawled up next to Legolas and started hugging him from both sides. It bought him a moment to think about how he supposed to explain these things to Legolas.

"I will go and try to explain, Legolas." Elrond softly said and gently handed Arwen over to Celebrían and opened his arms for Legolas. Legolas freed himself from the twin's hug and took his Elky with him before Elrond picked him up and sat him down on his lap. "Legolas, I think your ada is indeed not well, yet he is not really sick." Elrond said not really knowing how to explain. "Your ada's head hurts a lot, and that is why he would be a bit angry, or why he is not hungry, or tired. Do you understand that?" Legolas slowly nodded. "I told your ada that you would take good care of him together with me."

"Do we go to ada now?"

"Nay, you should go and play with Elladan and Elrohir now. When it is time for dinner, I will make sure that you can eat together with your ada."

"Okay." Legolas nodded. He did not really want to go and play with 'Dan and 'Ro now. "Would you tell a story?" He asked quietly after Elrond sat him back on his feet.

"A story you say?" Elrond softly smiled as he thought back to his own childhood long ago. "I think I have a nice story for you." Elrond chose one of the favorite stories from him and Elros when they were little.

Dictionary:

Mellon-nin - My friend

Ada/Adar - Father

Goheno nin - Forgive me

Saes - Please

Hannon-le - Thank you

Suilad - Informal greeting

Caleb - Sick