Chapter 19 ended with:
"I can promise you that he will have a childhood similar to my other children. I will love him, protect him, guide him, congratulate him for all his good actions and punish his wrongdoings. If you think Liam, Sean and Phoebe are happy, I can guarantee that Oropher and Gil-galad will be the same."
"That is all I am asking for. Sleep now, my child. I will take care of your son."
That had been the first of many nights that Valerie spent in the company of her father-in-law.
Chapter 20 – Recovery
Valerie was sitting on a long chair in the middle of the garden, carefully wrapped in a fur cape that Legolas had offered her a few weeks before, her two babies sleeping peacefully beside her in a portable crib Liam had designed. Gil-galad and Oropher were now four weeks old. Winter was coming and it was getting cold outside, at least for the limited half-elven population of Greenwood. Her babies were wrapped in thin blankets as they, in true pure elves, were not feeling the cold. Phoebe was playing in her wooden castle, also wearing a small fur cloak, trying to control the sounds she was making as she did not want to wake her little brothers. She knew the consequences of waking them up while they were sleeping, and the punishments were unpleasant, especially when her mother had not slept well the night before, which happened more often than not. Taking care of twins proved to be difficult for the entire family.
Valerie watched her three youngest children, pleased by the quietness of the afternoon. Gil-galad, the oldest twin by less than a minute, was a quiet ellon, sleeping most of the time, his little thumb in his mouth. It had taken Valerie a few days to get used to his abundant white hair, soft as silk, but so strange in her human eye. At first, she had thought he suffered from albinism, but Thranduil had told her otherwise. Gil-galad had been known for his white hair and deep, blue eyes, and suffered of no vision problems. He simply had hair white as snow. And when she had inquired, Thranduil had reluctantly admitted that Gil-galad would become a very handsome ellon, adding that his hair would be greatly appreciated by the female elven population.
Oropher was very different. He was a restless infant, who preferred to be in someone's arms instead of sleeping in his crib. He would cry many hours a day, and Thranduil was her best resource at night. For many nights in the past month, Valerie had gone to Thranduil's bedchamber to ask him to take care of his father. And Thranduil had always accepted, inviting Valerie to remain with him to talk for hours while Oropher was sleeping in his arms. Oropher looked so much like Legolas and Thranduil, with his golden hair and blue eyes.
Valerie heard the hushed voices of Miniel and Thranduil as they approached the garden. She snorted discreetly. How could people think that their hushed voices would be more easy for her to bear when there were a lot of people around her? It was their thoughts invading her mind – not their voices! A month after the horrific birth of her sons, she could now be with four or five people at a time, as long as everyone was calm and peaceful. Which never happened when her children were present. Sean and Phoebe, despite multiple punishments by Legolas, Miniel or even Thranduil, still could not get along for more than ten minutes. As a result, she was seeing them separately, like at this moment, when Phoebe was with her in the garden and Sean playing the violin in his room.
A moment later, Thranduil and Miniel appeared beside her.
"My Lady, I am here to take Phoebe back to her room for her Westron lesson with Bronadon," Miniel said. The governess was now very busy with the five children, and had to entrust some of their education to Lord Bronadon.
Do not think about anything, do not think about anything. Empty your mind, the elleth kept repeating in her head. Valerie had been hearing a lot of similar thoughts in the past weeks, which proved that no one was really able to keep their minds blank...
I hate Westron lesson, Phoebe was brooding. Bronadon is sooo boring! But I cannot complain in front of Grandsire, or he will give me his usual speech about the education of a princess. I am sure he gets sleepy too when he is with Bronadon!
Valerie still looks weak and sickly, Thranduil was thinking. She knew he was very worried about her. She could read it in his mind each time he was looking at her.
Miniel was gesturing to Phoebe to hurry, and the child jumped down the platform despite the specific interdictions about it, repeated many times a day. Miniel was almost having a heart attack each time she was witnessing Phoebe take the jump, if that was possible for an elf. Phoebe gave a kiss to her mother and grandfather, and dutifully followed her governess, who gave her a scolding as soon as they were out of earshot.
"How is my adar doing?" Thranduil asked, peeking at Oropher's little visage with interest as he sat down in another chair beside Valerie's.
"He is doing well. So is Gil-galad, by the way," she mentioned, knowing she was hitting a sore point. Valerie had spent a long time listening to Legolas and Liam as they described the feuds between Gil-galad and the Greenwood royal family. And if she could understand Thranduil's shock, she would not accept his lack of paying attention to the elfling version of the High King of the Noldor.
"Valerie -" Thranduil started.
"I thought of something the other day. I thought... that the Valar might have decided to give them a second chance as twin brothers, to ensure that they would not repeat the same mistakes in their second life."
Thranduil thought about it from this new perspective. It was true that if they were to be raised as twin brothers, it would be absolutely impossible for them to forget their second childhood as they started to regain memories of their prior lives. They would forgive each other and live peacefully, as two brothers. And there would not be any antagonism between them, unless...
"Unless you teach them early on that Oropher is more important than Gil-galad, that Oropher deserves your love and attention while Gil-galad doesn't. He will eventually grow angry and fight with his brother, all because of your favoritism," Valerie completed, following the direction of his thoughts in his mind.
"It is not favoritism," the king weakly protested.
"Oh please, be honest! Have you ever caressed or kissed Gil-galad? The first and last time you held him was during the c-section, Allison told me about it. Once you realized who he was, you never touched him again."
"I did not have the chance to hold him, he was always in someone else's arms."
"Bullocks to that! Here! Take him!" she challenged him. She took Gil-galad from the crib, offering him to the king. She held Thranduil's gaze for a while, until the displeased king took the wrapped child in his arms. Valerie took Oropher and started humming a lullaby, ignoring Thranduil who was immobile and staring at the child he was holding. He held Gil-galad like he was some sort of strange animal about to attack him. It was so comical, she barely avoided laughing out loud.
"Instead of ridiculing me, would you please explain why you are still unwell after the birth of your sons?"
Valerie immediately stopped humming. "I will certainly not discuss this with you," she replied coldly.
"And why not? It is my son we are talking about. My son, in all his glorious stubbornness and over-protectiveness."
"This is a private matter."
"And I am his father and your father-in-law. I think I am close enough to be entitled to give my opinion."
"Absolutely not!"
"Why not? You asked Allison! And what useful advice did she give you? To wait? Wait until what? Until you start fading? She does not know what she is talking about!"
"And you know better?"
"It so happens that I do," the king replied smugly.
"Then why don't you enlighten me?" she requested with sarcasm.
"You need to renew your bond. This is the only thing that can help you. Only Legolas can transfer some of his strength to you and help you to completely recover. Each time you regain strength by eating or resting, it is being sucked away by the lack of sleep at night and the energy you lose feeding your sons."
"So far, you are not telling me anything that I did not already know."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
"Thranduil, you know as well as I do that Legolas refuses to make love to me. After the birth, he decided that he will not risk my life again by giving me another child. He is terrified that I will get pregnant should we make love again. And to be quite honest, I am scared as well."
"Why? If he does not want to impregnate you, his semen will not be fertile. This is how it works for us elves. Only an ellon's true desire to have a child with his mate can turn his seed fertile and end up in a pregnancy."
"I am a half-elf. He thinks I might be able to get pregnant at any time, even if he does not wish to have another child. Why don't you remind him of the wonders of the elven reproductive system? He refuses to talk about this with me."
"And since when do you run away from a challenge? An elleth with your looks, self-assurance and... temper should not see Legolas' stubbornness as insurmountable. You know your power over him! Just use it, for the Valar's sake!"
Valerie remained silent, finding it horribly awkward to have a sex discussion with Thranduil. Of all the subjects that Thranduil could have talked about! She had never discussed such matters with her own father! Valerie froze. She pictured the red-haired man who had never been close to her. Her father, the wealthy self-made business man who spent more time at the office than at home, and even less time with his youngest daughter if not to chastise her for a reason or another. She realized that she had not thought of him since her departure from her world. Not even once. It was the same for her mother and brother. The kids and Allison had not spoken about them either. It was almost like... they had been wiped from their lives. Pondering these thoughts, she discovered that she did not miss them at all. Was she absolutely heartless? She had cut all the ties with her parents, and she did not care!
She discreetly observed Thranduil from the corner of her eye. The king was sitting with Gil-galad in his arms, his long blond hair flowing on his back, his ever-young stunning features making him one of the most handsome males she had ever met, but also one of the coldest. Only in the past month had she discovered how warm and caring he could be under this indifferent mask. He had asked her to call him adar. He had wanted to treat her like a daughter, and she had refused. She had not been ready to cross that line with him when he had asked her. But in the past month, she had spent numerous evenings and nights with him, listening to old stories, exchanging ideas about the problems they had in the realm and watching him as he took care of Oropher, the most difficult child she had given birth to, with surprising competence and extreme tenderness. She had seen facets of him that she had never thought existed. And now? He was worried about her health to the point of interfering in her sex life!
Pushing away in a corner of her mind any thoughts about her biological father, she started humming again now that the king had started rocking Gil-galad like he usually did with Oropher. At least he was now busy and had stopped giving her his unsolicited and mortifying advices. But the worse thing was... he was right. Once again. How she hated that her father-in-law was more than six thousand years old, with the maturity that came along...
OoOoO
Legolas was coming back from an exhausting training session, and was dreaming of a quiet bath to relax his sore muscles. When he entered his private apartment, he could hear Phoebe's soft breathing in her bedroom and Valerie and his youngest sons in the nursery. The babies were awake, making little noises while Valerie was preparing them for the night. Oropher was not crying, thank the Valar, which meant they might enjoy a quiet night for once. He started to undress and slowly lowered himself in the bath that had been prepared by a servant. He was half asleep when Valerie entered the room, holding their sons in her arms.
"I am going to your father's chambers for the evening," she said.
"Fine, my love," he said tiredly. He did not understand how his father and Valerie had suddenly become so close in the past month, but it was certainly helping him when she spent as little time as possible in their apartment. He could see that she was not healthy, that her recovery was too slow to be normal. But she was his fëa-mate, she was beautiful to him, and she was... a constant, torturing temptation!
"I will be back in a while," Valerie announced, her gaze cold and unforgiving. She had read his last thoughts. Not for the first time, he regretted that Lady Galadriel had given her such an unwelcome gift. They were used to know how the other was feeling through their link – but this was beyond anything he was comfortable with. He had no more private thoughts about anything, and although he knew she would never use it against him, he still needed time to adjust to her new ability.
"I might be asleep when you get back."
He felt guilty when she could not hide her disappointment. However, he had already explained to her many times that they would never take the chance of her getting pregnant again. And that meant... something as drastic as avoiding to mate for the rest of their lives. It had been a month already, and Legolas was wondering how he would cope with such deprivation. Just watching her standing there was making his body on fire.
Valerie turned around and left the room with their sons. It would be best if he went back to his duty in the forest for a few months. Things would cool down between them, and she would accept his decision more quickly. He came out of the bath and dried himself with a towel, watching with frustration the part of his anatomy that refused to collaborate with his decision. He should take care of the problem before Valerie came back and tried to tempt him again.
He lied on the bed and started thinking of Valerie while distractedly stroking his elfhood. He pictured Valerie as he had seen her the day before, when he had entered their bedroom and seen her naked as she was putting on her nightdress. Her breasts were swollen because she was feeding his sons, and he burned to touch them, caress them, kiss them... but he could only do it in his mind. He became harder if it was even possible, and his stroking movements became frantic as he tried to reach his release quickly in case Valerie would change her mind and come back from his father's apartment.
A moment later, he flinched when he felt the bed shift and saw with disbelief that Valerie had indeed come back earlier, without their sons, and was now kneeling beside him, removing her nightdress.
"What are you doing?" he asked, hurriedly sitting down and attempting to move away from her while covering his naked body with the bed sheet. He needed to put a barrier between them.
"Something I should have done way before," she replied, pulling on the bed sheet and climbing on top of him. She slowly kissed his lips, not disappointed when he didn't reciprocate. She had expected resistance, something Thranduil had, once again, predicted accurately.
"Valerie," he said in a chiding tone when she backed away to look at him, "you know we cannot make love!"
"Who said I am planning to make love?" she asked while her right hand caressed his shoulder, slowly making its way down from his pectorals to his stomach. How she had missed the smoothness of his skin, the warmth of his body, the hunger in his blue eyes! "Let me give you some pleasure," she murmured with a sexy grin.
Legolas was absolutely defenseless, which Thranduil had also predicted. Valerie would have to thank him later for the thorough briefing he had given her and for the babysitting of his two grandsons. She kissed her mate again, more passionately, her hand replacing his in the long, stroking movements he had been doing before. He was still stiff and hesitant, but when she bent over him to take his penis in her mouth, Legolas rested his head against the oak headboard with a deep sigh, finally realizing that resistance was futile.
It was not long before he was breathing shallowly and moaning her name with a throaty voice. Valerie was carefully guarding her thoughts to ensure he would not feel her determination and mischievousness through their link. But her husband, near an explosive release, was concentrating on the physical pleasure his mate was giving him and not on what her feelings were. Her plan was simple and effective, and was all her own. Thranduil had not dared going into so much details, as it would have been distasteful to discuss this between father-in-law and daughter-in-law. But they both had known what she was planning to do, without verbally exchanging questions and advice about it.
When Legolas approached his peak and started arching against the headboard, Valerie lifted her head, removed his penis from her mouth, and in a swift and unpredictable movement, she straddled Legolas and lowered herself on his leaking member.
Well, maybe my movement had not been as unpredictable as I had thought, Valerie pondered as she felt her body being quickly and firmly pushed away at the other end of the bed. She landed on her bottom, facing a fierce Legolas who was staring at her with both anger and disbelief.
"How could you?" he asked with an icy voice. "How could you trick me like this?" He watched his engorged penis with alarm. "There already was some semen... Do you realize the risk you took?" he said, raising his voice.
"What risk are you referring to? There is no way either of us will ever want me to have other children! Your semen will never be fertile again!"
"We are not sure how you got pregnant the first time around!"
"You wanted the prophecy to be reality! You wanted those children! That's how you got me pregnant!"
"Valerie, I will not take a chance!"
Valerie decided to bring out the heavy artillery. It was simply not possible that such a passionate ellon would be able to resist her. She only wished she was in top shape instead of feeling weak and miserable. "Are you saying you will never make love to me again?" She lied on the corner of the bed, exposing her naked body to his eager eyes. She was a bit self-conscious about her C-section scar, but Legolas had his eyes on her bosom. To tempt him, she started caressing her breasts, her nipples hard as pebbles in the cold room. He swallowed audibly. Sensing that her touching his body had the desired effect, she let one of her hands slowly wander to the apex of her thighs, her legs opening wider to give him a good view.
"I miss you," she said, closing her eyes to concentrate on the sensations created by her hand, "and I know that we will both be careful not to get me pregnant. I cannot imagine a life without your love, without your caresses... I want to feel your mouth on my skin, your hands on my body, the incredible pleasure you give me when you pump into me until I am on fire... Self-pleasuring is not as satisfying..."
She sighed, the movements of her hand between her thighs arousing her and making her hunger for more, much more. When she opened her eyes, Legolas was kneeling closer to her, stroking his elfhood while watching her through slitted eyes. His expression was so fierce, she was slightly scared that she had gone too far while pushing him. But she had to finish what she had started, otherwise he would escape to the forest with his warriors for months and would come back with renewed strength and determination. And she would have to face Thranduil, who would doubtlessly make sarcastic comments on how she had failed at such a simple and easy task. The king was convinced Legolas would not be able to resist her before his decision became too firm.
Valar, how I want her! Do not give in! Be strong! he was repeating in his head like a mantra.
She opened her legs wider, offering herself to him while she was still caressing her slit. "I need to feel you in me, Legolas. Can't you see that I am ready for you?"
Stop tempting me, my love, I cannot bear the thought of losing you again! Maybe if I do not ejaculate in her?
Valerie did not even smile triumphantly. Her pleasure was growing, her breathing more rapid and her cheeks flushing with the rush of blood. But she wanted him, and she wanted him now. The hand that was caressing her nipples went south and she entered two fingers in herself while the other hand kept stroking her clitoris. She moaned loudly, trying to satisfy her need for friction with her fingers. Her fingers went faster and faster, and although she was nearing her peak, her pleasure was limited when compared to being penetrated by her mate and being ridden with his passion and enthusiasm.
She started when she felt his grip on her wrist and when she opened her eyes, she saw him towering over her. He brought her hand to his mouth and slowly licked the fingers that were coated in her lubrication. She watched him, fascinated by his animalistic side. And while her eyes were on his mouth, he took her with a sudden and firm movement of his hips.
Her cry of pain surprised Legolas, who immediately tried to withdraw. She grabbed his bottom firmly, attempting to keep him inside of her. "Don't!" she cried.
"We should never have done this! You are not ready yet!"
"But I should be! I should have been able to make love with you a few days after giving birth, if my recovery had been normal. But it is clear that I will not recover if we do not renew our bond and you give me some of your strength through our link."
"How can I? I hurt you by just being inside of you!"
"You can! You just need to be... gentler than usual. Our couplings have always been very passionate, but this time, this is not what I need. Can you do gentle?" she asked with a voice that was both sweet and sexy while her fingertips were roaming on his back, giving him the shivers.
"I can do gentle," he murmured, his breath caressing her ear. He kissed her neck and ear until she completely relaxed in his arms, her quiet moans an invitation for him to start thrusting inside her again.
"Promise you will let me know if I hurt you."
"I promise," she said, and he made a little movement inside her, observing her face to see any signs of pain. He continued with little, shallow thrusts, still observing her like a hawk watching his prey.
Her eyebrows twitched. Does she feel pain? Would she really tell me if my movements are agony to her?
"Stop observing me like this, you are creepy! I told you I would tell you if I feel pain!"
"I do not want to hurt you!"
"And you are not enjoying our coupling at all, I can read it in your mind! Close your eyes!" she commanded.
"Why?"
"Stop looking at me with your eyes, and feel what I feel through our link... Please! Trust me!"
Legolas obediently closed his eyes and put his forehead against hers.
She started moving upwards on his shaft, all the while murmuring words of love and giving him small, tender kisses on his mouth and cheeks. Legolas started relaxing as he allowed himself to feel the sensations caused by her light movements. She was as lush and tight as before, and he shivered as the pleasure was growing from his groin to his spine, and a moan escaped his lips, encouraging Valerie to keep going.
Legolas started answering her kisses, and he concentrated on feeling the emotions that his mate was experiencing. Finally able to connect to her fëa, all he could sense was positive feelings, and no pain at all. Love, devotion, awe, trust, respect, enjoyment, lust... lots of lust...
He took over the control of their coupling by increasing the pace of thrusting and depth of penetration.
"You are pretty slow at understanding sometimes!" Valerie chuckled. Her laughter died to be replaced by a groan when his plunges gave her the delightful pleasure she had not felt in weeks.
"Oh gods! Yes, like that!" she requested feverishly, and he complied, controlling his own pleasure as he did not want this to end too soon. If he wanted to renew their bond, they needed to peak at the same time, creating the necessary connection for him to push some of his strength into his weaker mate.
He almost lost control when she finally arched her back, a passionate scream coming out of her mouth. He let go and let the ecstasy invade him up to his fingertips, their fëar finally joined to become one. He gained access to her thoughts for a few precious seconds, and discovered how she hated hearing everyone's thoughts, how uncomfortable she was with his father's friendliness, and even how his own father had coaxed her into doing this for her own good... Remembering that they needed to share more than their thoughts, he pushed some of his strength and health through their wide-open link and immediately felt her relief when she received it. Their link shut down a few seconds later and Legolas rolled on his back, pulling Valerie on his chest.
Sated and exhausted, he fell asleep while Valerie remained awake, knowing she would have to feed her sons soon. The elflings were still with Thranduil who was undoubtedly awake and who had probably followed the progress of their coupling with interest.
She was already feeling more energized and the pain in her stomach was receding. She would recover from the birth now, and would be able to take care of all her children and the realm like she should. She would have to thank Thranduil for having convinced her to attempt this stunt. It was still not enough to call him adar, but he was getting close. Damn it, she would have to invite him to the Sunday family dinners now! What would she cook? Would the king love lasagna?
"Sleep, Vanima!" Legolas said sleepily. "I leave for the borders early tomorrow, and I want you to be at the gate to wish me farewell!"
OoOoO
Fortress of Greenwood, 5 years later
It was before dawn, and Valerie was sitting at her desk, trying to finish reading her correspondence with the Master of Esgaroth. When Legolas was not at the fortress, she was working late in the night and frequently before sunrise to ensure she would take care of all responsibilities while her children were sleeping. It allowed her to spend many hours with them every day, instead of simply delegating their education to Miniel.
She stopped reading when she heard the soft knock on her door. Surprised that someone was awake in the royal aisle at this early hour, she asked the visitor to come in. It was a warrior that had been on guard during the night.
"My Lady, a great eagle flew by during the night and deposited a small package for you in front of the gate."
Valerie smiled. This was good news indeed. The eagles sometimes deigned carrying letters for the elves, and Valerie was corresponding regularly with Arwen, who still was with her grandparents in Lothlorien. She could not understand how Arwen spent years away from Imladris without missing her father and brothers, but the elleth was millennia old and obviously needed some time away once in a while...
"Is it from Lothlorien?" she asked the warrior.
"The letter bears the crest of Dol Amroth."
Valerie's smile was even brighter at the news. She thanked the warrior and waited until he had left her office before opening the letter from Princess Gilrin, wife of Lord Imrahil, prince of Belfalas and Dol Amroth. She immediately recognized the patrician handwriting of her only mortal friend, one she had not even met in person yet. Arwen was friends with the princess and it seemed that they had both talked about Valerie in their letters, until Gilrin had decided to take it upon herself to send a letter directly to Valerie, curious to know this half-elven princess coming from a different world to give birth to reborn elves. Valerie had answered, and they had been pen pals for three years now.
"My dearest Valerie, I must apologize for my tardiness in replying to your last letter. My son Elphir got married, and the preparation of the ceremony and the welcoming of a new member in our family have been keeping me busy for months! How I wish you had been able to attend! One day, my dear friend, you will have to leave this dark forest and these caves of yours, and visit me in Belfalas. Back to my story, all this craziness is now behind us, calm is reigning once again within the walls of our citadel. At least, when my daughter Lothiriel is in a different room than my new daughter-in-law. I believe I already told you that my daughter inherited my boldness and liveliness, amongst some of my traits that make me a strange woman in the eyes of my people. I wish she had inherited my husband's charming personality! My new daughter-in-law, her name is Faelin - did I ever tell you how quickly my son had seduced her? I personally believe that a woman should make a man wait longer, it never hurts to be desired before submitting to their will..." Valerie smiled. As usual, Gilrin was jumping from one thought to another, and her letters always required to be read twice in order not to miss any information.
"Back to Faelin, she is the sweetest little thing that ever walked in our castle. Imrahil, being the clueless male that he unfortunately is – he has many other qualities, but subtlety is not part of them – keeps telling Lothiriel how she should act like a Lady, and align herself on Faelin's behavior. This was the only thing required for my daughter to develop a strong antipathy towards her new sister-in-law, and since then, meals and family gatherings have been very tense. Poor Faelin does not know how to deal with my young daughter, and I quite enjoy watching them fight. I know I should not, but distractions being so rare here, am I really to blame? Imrahil and Elphir do blame me, as if I was able to tame my wild Lothiriel. Only the gods, or maybe one of these Rohirrim warriors, could control her. I doubt you have ever met a Rider of the Mark, my friend, but when you will eventually travel in Middle Earth, you must stop in Meduseld and have a closer look. The way these men master their wild horses... I must stop with these audacious comments, you will think me inappropriate! Truthfully, I am too old to have such thoughts! How I wish I was your age! I am smiling as I write these lines, and my daughter is watching me, wondering what I am writing that is so humorous. Only to you I can say such things, your open-mindedness and sarcasm are absolutely refreshing in my life. I am always delighted when you describe your fights with the infamous King of Mirkwood... I must admit your last letter was absolutely hilarious. My husband and children were watching me as I read it, wondering if I was starting to lose my mind. I had to share with them the funniest parts. Believe me when I say that your sense of humor was very successful!"
Valerie smiled again. Gilrin was indeed a person that definitely lacked a filter, and she could not imagine how Thranduil would react if he ever met her one day. She was so far away from what he thought was proper behavior for a princess! But most of all, he would not forgive her calling his dear kingdom Mirkwood! He despised the name the rest of Middle Earth was giving to their cherished realm.
"King Theoden is a nice man, who lost his wife a few years ago. I believe she died of a disease related to her lungs after a particularly difficult winter. His sister and brother-in-law have also left this world, one in childbirth and the other during a skirmish with orcs, leaving the king with the responsibilities that come with a son, a nephew and a young niece. How I feel sorry for this poor little girl, living alone in this relatively uncomfortable manor they call Meduseld on the hill of Edoras... The Rohirrim are quite primitive, in my humble opinion, and I cannot even imagine how she is being raised! King Theoden could certainly learn a few tricks from you, mother of five children!"
Gilrin continued talking about the events that had happened in Belfalas since her last letter, describing in detail her son's wedding, and gave her news of her nephews living in Minas Tirith, one Boromir, a soldier and young captain of Gondor's army, and the younger one, Faramir, a teenager with a gentler temper. Faramir was definitely Gilrin's favorite nephew, and from what Valerie could gather, he seemed to be a scholar like Liam.
"I have covered three pages of parchment, and I have not even talked about the most important matter. You asked about the weather in Belfalas during the winter, and even sent me a drawing of what you called a palm tree in your world. I have disappointing news: we have no such trees in Belfalas. But we have long beaches of golden sand, and warm sea water, even during the winter. Would you care for a nice vacation in warm weather during winter for a change? If you left Mirkwood during the fall, you would arrive after approximately six weeks later, and could spend a few months here, in our fortress of Dol Amroth. We could bring the children to the beach regularly, memories they would cherish for the rest of their lives! And they would appreciate the warm weather – but how silly of me! Your youngest children do not even feel the cold! Would you bring your older children too? I wish I could meet them all, I feel like I know them already! The decision is made, this time, I will not accept your polite refusals! Pack your children, bring your husband if he can, and come to Belfalas! But please, have pity on me and leave your father-in-law in Mirkwood!"
Valerie burst out laughing, tears running down her face at the idea of Thranduil traveling for weeks to sit on a beach, with his grandchildren burying him in hot, golden sand. She quickly took her decision. She would go to Belfalas during the winter. After all, she was supposed to unite the various people of Middle Earth, and so far, she had not made contact with other cities than Esgaroth. It was time that she started to travel. She could even stop by Lothlorien and convince Arwen to travel with her if she was not planning to go back to Imladris shortly. On her way back from Belfalas, she could stop in Gondor and in Rohan. She was tired of always being in Greenwood. Esgaroth was no longer providing enough distraction – she would tremendously like traveling once more!
But enough fun for the moment, she could hear Miniel on her way to her private apartment to wake the twins, and she had not even finish reading the letter sent by the Master of Esgaroth! She pushed away Meniril's letter, grabbed the boring one and started reading it again from the beginning.
"Mother," Liam thundered while storming into Valerie's office. "Oropher came into my room and broke all my quills!"
"Take a few in the wooden box on the table near the fire," she replied, not even looking at him. This was a recurring event, with Oropher who liked to trespass in his older brothers' apartment and steal their belongings, when not breaking them. Sean still had not gotten over the scratches that had appeared on his violin almost a year before.
"No! This time, I want him to be punished! I am sick and tired that he never gets disciplined! Everyone just beams at him and Gil-galad as if they could do no wrong -"
"Gil-galad never does anything wrong!" Valerie cried, cutting through Liam's tirade. The oldest twin was an angel when compared to the little monster Oropher was sometimes turning into.
"Yes, well... You are right about Gil-galad," Liam admitted reluctantly. "Although he is most of the time around Oropher when he is misbehaving, and he does not do anything to stop him!"
"He is five years old!" Valerie laughed sarcastically. "What did you expect? That the whole minute of additional maturity he has over Oropher would make a difference?"
"Do not change the subject! We are talking about Oropher!" Liam cried, and Valerie, confused, tried to follow her oldest son's train of thought. Liam must have been extremely angry to lose his composure and usual eloquence. She put her quill and parchment down, and sat more comfortably, gesturing for him to do the same in the chair in front of her desk.
Mother must understand that Oropher will become a spoiled elfling if no one ever punishes him!
Valerie almost snorted as she read in her son's mind that he thought he could give her lessons on how to educate children. She looked at him, now a tall but awkward teenager of 15, a boy close to manhood that still did not know how to move around with his longer limbs. Another characteristic he took from his human side while he could have been graceful if he had been a full elf... Liam had spent the last 5 years reading and learning about Middle Earth, but most importantly, had spent most of his time building numerous machines that could be seen all over the fortress and in the yard. His knowledge and genius was greatly respected by all, and everyone came to see him with challenges of an engineering nature. His latest creation was a sort of small catapult, which Thranduil had found impressive despite its uselessness, since the fortress had never been assaulted in the past millennium. He had nevertheless authorized his grandson to install it on the wall, near the gate. The warriors on guard were using it for fun on a regular basis, turning it into tournaments like they did for archery. Brethilon was the crowned champion each time, since he never went on guard duty anymore in the forest, his duty still being to be Valerie's bodyguard along with his brother Cadworon.
"Oropher and Gil-galad will grow up soon enough, Liam, and one day, you will remember these days with nostalgia."
"I doubt it," the young ellon huffed. "I looked into the healing books that the healers suggested. They are right, elflings do have a slow growth rate. It will take forever for them to become adults!" he pouted. Our lives will be miserable for longer than I can stand!
"I do not even know why you doubted everyone's word on this, even your father's and grandfather's," Valerie replied, going back to reading her parchment. "And our lives are not miserable, by the way. I do not appreciate such comments." The growth of Gil-galad and Oropher was a major cause of frustration for Liam and Sean, who both liked peace and quiet, and had to live with two unruly little brothers and a strong-willed younger sister. "I do not even know how you thought they would have the growth rate of a human if they take 50 years to reach their physical and mental maturity!"
When Liam had realized that the twins had stopped growing at five, he had started to ask questions around, sincerely worried about their health. But when he had heard that elflings grew literally for 50 years, alternating between growth spurts of 5 years between decades of stable physical appearance, he had realized that his little twin brothers would look like and act like 5 year-old children for the next ten years, and he had asked for proof of this to the head healer.
"You have to read this! I made the resume for you!" he said, and Valerie had no choice but to read the parchment he was holding right in front of her nose, as if she was extremely short-sighted. She took the paper and read:
They grew normally between their birth and 5 years old – they now look like 5 years old humans
Stable for 10 years – at age 15, they will still look like 5
2nd growth spurt lasts 5 years – at age 20, they will look like 10 year-old children
stable again for 10 years – at age 30, they will look like they are 10 (ask Grandpa about adult teeth?)
3rd growth spurt lasts 5 years – at age 35, they will look 15 (ask Grandpa when puberty starts exactly)
stable again for 10 years – at age 45, they still look 15 (10 years of puberty – dreadful! Ask Grandpa if I can move to another aisle during that time!)
last growth spurt lasts 5 years – at age 50, they will look 20 and be considered fully matured elves
Some books say that memories from prior lives start appearing after 45. Get prepared for this, as Gil-galad and Oropher were sworn enemies and both died on the same battlefield. Possibility of gruesome memories to appear before they are mature. Gil-galad had no mate, but Oropher might remember his mate Tialyn (Grandpa's mother).
Valerie put the paper on her desk. "Thank you, Sweetheart, for this thorough research. I will keep it for future reference."
"Stop calling me sweetheart, I am a grown ellon now."
"I will stop calling you sweetheart in three years, when you are of age."
I hate it when she treats me like a child!
He sulked for a while and Valerie blocked his thoughts, an ability she had developed over the years. It had been a relief after spending years hearing each and every thoughts of everyone around her.
"What are you working on?" Liam asked, always curious about his mother's work. In the past five years, Valerie had taken a more important role in the realm. It had started slowly with her involvement in the matters relating to Lake-town. She had traveled there twice a year, to organize trades while Allison was accompanying her to offer her services as a doctor. And life had been entertaining for Valerie, until Bronadon and Ninaelil had requested the permission to finally sail to Valinor three years before. At this point, Ninaelil's health had been so impaired by her unbearable need to sail that Thranduil had had no choice but to release them from their duty to the realm. Life for Valerie had drastically changed. She had taken over most of their duties, between the diplomacy with the other realms and taking care of the household. She would have complained about the long hours, if Legolas had not been on guard duty in the forest most of his time now. He was making quick appearances once every three weeks, exhausted and stressed. It was taking Valerie and the children three days to make him relax, and then, he was going back to the forest.
"Lake-town would like -"
"We are alone, Mom, you can call the town Esgaroth when Grandpa is not around!"
"The Master of Esgaroth would like to benefit from your knowledge. It seems you vastly impressed them with the improvements you made to their water mill, and they would like to build a new one. They would like you to design it."
"A water mill," Liam huffed, "while I could build so much more for them!"
"They might not be ready for more, Sweetheart. This is the Middle Ages for mortals, remember?"
"What time is it?" Liam suddenly asked. "Are we late for breakfast?"
"Hurry, we might make it before your grandfather!" Valerie cried, standing quickly and walking swiftly to the family's private dining room, followed by her son. They had converted a room in the royal aisle in a dining room four years before. The royal family was having breakfast and lunch there every day. They only ate in the Hall at dinner, with the rest of the realm. Valerie had a need for more privacy than Thranduil and Legolas were used to, but they had humored her since it seemed so important to her. But since then, the king had been adamant that punctuality for the family meals was essential, and in this, Valerie was humoring him.
They made it before Thranduil, and Valerie gave a good morning kiss to Phoebe, who was already eating her oatmeal with honey, while Sean waved to her from the other side of the table, his mouth full of toasted bread.
"Nana!" Gil-galad cried while Oropher's own cry was being shut by a timely spoonful served by their governess Miniel.
Valerie caressed her older twin's white hair while she kissed his tiny nose. "Are you not hungry, baby?" she asked him. Gil-galad offered her the half-eaten apple that he had been playing with. "Here, Nana, you can finish my apple."
"No, thank you, my love. You cannot offer half-eaten food like this – it is disgusting!"
"He already ate, my Lady," Miniel informed her. "He was awake while you were in your office, and I had to have a servant bring him some bread and strawberry jam since he was going to wake all his siblings with his whining."
"I want a kiss too!" Oropher cried, spitting oatmeal all over the table. Miniel patiently wiped the table while Valerie was kissing Oropher's golden head.
She only had time to sit down and put a piece of bread in her plate when Thranduil entered the dining room.
"Good morning," the king said to all, obviously in a good mood. Everyone is on time, the king was thinking with satisfaction.
Miniel stood and curtsied while the king was making a tour of the table, giving a quick kiss to all the children, Liam and Sean included.
"Good morning, Father," Valerie told him when he kissed the top of her head. She affectionately patted the hand he had put on her shoulder. She had started calling him father a few months after the birth of the twins, once their relationship had improved to the point where they both felt fondness for each other.
Thranduil sat beside Gil-galad and the children continued their morning babbling. The king was wonderfully patient with all the children, more so than Valerie. He kindly accepted the half-eaten apple that Gil-galad was offering and after a moment of hesitation, he took a bite before giving it back to the child.
"Nana says sharing food is disgusting!" Gil-galad said with a huge smile showing all his pure white baby teeth.
"It is!" Valerie said, glaring at Thranduil.
"Ada promised me that he would take me to the forest soon," Phoebe said to her grandfather to change the subject.
"You are ten years old, you are too young to go in the forest with the warriors," Valerie cut. "I have yet to agree to this."
"If Legolas says she is ready, then she is," Thranduil replied. "He will never let her get hurt, you know this."
"I refuse!"
"But Mother -" Phoebe protested.
"Valerie, would you care to join me in my office to continue this discussion?"
"No! There is nothing to discuss -"
"In my office!" the king ordered. When he used that tone, Valerie knew better than to keep arguing in front of the children. She stood and left the dining room, fuming and ready to stand her ground once again against her father-in-law. Even if they liked each other, they rarely saw eye to eye and each decision concerning the family was reached through harsh negotiations.
As soon as he entered his office and closed the door behind them, she attacked. "There is no way in hell that my 10 year-old daughter will go in the forest, Thranduil! She is 10 years old!"
"And at that tender age, she is a better archer than you are, which is impressive, and she is becoming dangerous with her blades. What she lacks in strength, she makes up with speed and incredible agility."
"It is my decision, she is my daughter! Only I have blood rights on her!"
Thranduil's expression suddenly became cold and extremely disappointed. "Don't you dare repeat such an insult in front of Legolas or myself! Phoebe, Liam and Sean might have your blood only, but they have been part of our family for the past five years! Legolas loves them as a biological father, he would kill for them, he would die for them, and so would I! Don't you dare making such silly blood claims ever again, Valerie Thompson!"
Valerie sat down on a chair, her face flushed with shame and guilt. She swallowed a few times before the knot in her throat finally vanished. She eventually found enough courage to face her father-in-law, who was standing in front of her, waiting for an apology.
Unacceptable... how dare she! She can be so immature and stubborn sometimes...
"I am... sorry, Father, for saying such a thing. Phoebe is... my only daughter, my little elleth, I cannot! I cannot let her go! Surely, you must understand that?"
"I can join them," Thranduil said.
Valerie's jaw dropped, speechless until the words registered in her mind. But they could not be real. "I think I heard wrong. What did you just say?"
"Have you gone deaf during the night?" Thranduil asked sarcastically.
"But Father, you never leave the fortress! The last time you did was 5 years ago, when I got attacked on my way back from Esgaroth."
"Lake-town."
"Whatever! Why? Why would you go in the forest with our warriors?"
"Because I could spend some time with my son and my granddaughter. And it would be two sets of eyes on her. You have to let her go, Valerie. She will be the greatest warrior this realm has ever known. She has to start somewhere. She cannot accomplish her destiny if you keep her here, in the fortress, protected from danger."
"I am scared."
"So am I. Every single day, my own son is out there, fighting orcs and spiders. Each time he leaves the fortress, I wonder if I will see him alive again."
"I feel the same about Legolas. But I am sure it will be fear on a whole different level with my daughter. How do you do it?"
"You get used to it. With time... Now, will you allow your daughter go on a little expedition with her adar and grandsire?"
"If she gets hurt... You will beg me for a quick death," she darkly promised.
"Yes, I love you too. Now let us go tell the good news to Phoebe. I also will help Gil-galad to finish his apple."
Valerie rolled her eyes while Thranduil was smiling regally.
"I think now might be the right time to let you know that I am planning to spend the winter in Belfalas, drinking cocktails on a sandy beach."
Thranduil's superior smile immediately vanished. "No!"
"Do you want to bring Phoebe in the forest or not?" Valerie bargained, sitting more comfortably, knowing these negotiations would probably take most of the morning.
OoOoO
"Look, Nana, my tower is higher than Oropher's!"
"Yes, it is very high," Valerie appreciated, looking at the wooden blocks piled up in a shaky structure that would certainly fall should anyone breathe too close. "But Oropher's fortress looks very solid, do you not think, sweetheart?"
Gil-galad observed the structure that his twin brother was building with attention. "Your fortress is very nice," the elfling complimented his sibling.
Oropher beamed and kept on building his structure.
"I hope they will get along like this for their entire lives," Miniel whispered to Valerie. "Maybe they will finally forgive each other..."
"I certainly hope so! Please keep encouraging them to collaborate and to never compare their respective accomplishments. That should do the trick for the next few years. Maybe if -"
"My Lady!" Cadworon bellowed as he boomed the door open, intruding in their family evening. The elflings shrieked, scared by his rude entrance. Everyone in the room turned to watch him warily, heart beating wildly.
"The watchers have signaled lights coming in the direction of the fortress!"
"Lights?" Valerie inquired, worried. Cadworon would not have reacted this way if these were Greenwood elves coming back home. "How many lights?"
A lot, the ellon thought, not wanting to alert the children but knowing Valerie would read it in his mind. Lieutenant Hadron asked me to fetch you. You have to see this!
Valerie stood from the floor where she had been sitting with her sons and followed him in the direction of the great gate. "What is going on?"
"We are under attack. Probably orcs, a least a hundred of stinky, slimy beasts," he replied grimly.
Valerie snorted darkly. "And of course, it had to happen while both the king and the captain are away." Thranduil had left a week before with Phoebe to join Legolas and his warriors in the forest, leaving Valerie in charge of the fortress and the soldiers remaining there. "Do you think this is a coincidence?"
"How could it not be?"
"I do not know. There has been talk of dark magic in Dol Guldur, you know that Mithrandir is quite worried about it. Maybe someone is spying on us in a magical way..."
"It is a possibility," Cadworon admitted.
When they reached the wall, they climbed the stairs and stood between Hadron and Brethilon, watching the approaching lights with apprehension.
I had to make a 5-year time jump – otherwise, this story will be at least 500,000 words! I intend to do a few time jumps like this in the future chapters, since I have many plans for the adult elflings! After all, I am sure you want to meet all their future mates!
In the next chapter, there will be an attack on the fortress, and Elladan and Glorfindel are visiting Greenwood!
Don't forget to leave a review!
Gginsc: Valerie will not misuse her new ability for her own benefit. But it will provide her with entertainment in the future chapters…
Philosophie88: I was very flattered by your last review. Thank you for your great support!
Abbyforth: Thranduil is obviously connecting with his own father, but I wanted him to connect with Gil-galad also. I took care of his relunctance in this last chapter, and now, he will be close to all his grandchildren…
Legolas fan: The children will play important roles in the future, it is difficult to evenly divide my attention to each of them! But I will try!
Glassary: For now, Thranduil is just relieved that Valerie survived the birth. But I am not saying he will not try to use her ability for his own purposes… ;-)
Glory Bee: I really wanted Thranduil to like the children, and you are right, only Oropher could help Thranduil completely open up to Valerie. But I really wanted him to connect with Gil-galad also. Otherwise, it would have created jealousy between the twins, and that could have created a lot of tension in the family…
KKK3: Did you like how Thranduil is finally accepting Gil-galad?
Hannahhobnob: yes, the last chapter was a bit dramatic and emotional! But now, Valerie is back in business and there will be a lot of action in the next chapter!
Foofie01: I never thought that I could rewrite The Prophecy and make it such a different story! But the fact that she is in Greenwood, with Legolas, gives me opportunities that I didn't have in the Haldir version.
Angel: Thanks for your review, I am glad that you liked it that much. I only update every two weeks because my chapters are long and that I really want to give the readers some quality work. It feels great to hear that my efforts are appreciated!
ShueYun: as you saw in this chapter, Valerie's half-elven children are growing at a human pace. I couldn't make Elladan wait 45 years before he could be with his mate!
Aralinn: As you can see, Valerie finally forgave Thranduil – but it took her some time. She really had hated when he had spied on her and accused her of cheating on Legolas! I haven't quite decided yet how many prophecy children there will be in this story – I have so many ideas of who else could be added to their family!
Aureleis: I try to have a surprise or an event in each chapter, but I admit that this one is an idea coming from Narwen in the original story… And Thranduil finally accepted Gil-galad like his other grandchildren in this chapter – can you imagine how things could have degenerated if Thranduil had remained aloof with him for 50 years and Gil-galad got his memories back?
2lazy2login: thank you for your review. I really like your name, by the way!