A/N: Hey everyone. Here is the next installment of the story. I'm sorry for all of you Estel lovers that this is so Legol-o-centric I promise you the Estel will make an appearance in the next chapter. If he's going to be conscious is yet to be seen…(evil laugh). I was going to make this chapter longer, but I figured this was a good stoping place and that also means the beginning of the next chapter is already written. I hope to have that next chapter out by the end of the month, but we know how that goes…

I hope this lives up to expectations and I'm sorry if it disappoints. I had a lot of problems making this an exciting chapter, but I hope I've improved that with editing.

I like this chapter because it's a really good scene between Legolas and his father, which so many fanfic stories never really do a lot of thranduil/legolas exploration. So I hope that you enjoy it.

Chapter Four: Don't you Know I Love You?

"And those confounded dwarves have been seen wandering in our territories again. I intend to send a force within the week to see the miscreants properly dealt wi…Legolas…Legolas are you listening to me?" King Thranduil asked irritably, noticing the far away look in his son's eyes.

The boy was day dreaming again. He was too much of a wild spirit, never content in his princely duties. And it irritated Thranduil to no end. Legolas had obligations, responsibilities. He was a prince for Valar's sake. He had no time for these idle musings. If Legolas was ever to become king one day, the boy would have to get rid of this foolish idealism he had.

Legolas was drawn from his thoughts at his father's unexpected change in tone. He blinked his eyes a few times as though waking from a dream before focusing reluctantly on the distraught king.

"Forgive me ada. My mind was… elsewhere." The prince's cheeks flushed slightly pink, at being caught wandering again. He just couldn't seem to get his mind off that strange human boy, Estel. There was something special about this mortal child and Legolas was intent upon discovering his secrets.

The king jumped frustrated from his chair, and began pacing erratically back and forth about the room, waving his arms about in a jumbled motion. At the moment he looked quite mad.

"Your thoughts are always elsewhere Legolas. When will you get your mind out of the trees and start acting like a prince instead of some dreamy eyed youth. What if my advisors had seen you in such a state, or worse yet our subjects? You must have a sharp mind about you to deal with the problems of our kingdom. Such inattentive behavior could very easily cause our people to loose faith in your abilities as a ruler. I am most disappointed in your behavior Legolas. I had thought you had finally out grown such childish fancies." Thranduil ranted angrily as his temper got the best of him.

"Oh Valar, what have I done to deserve a child such as this." Thranduil stopped pacing and raised his hands imploringly up at the ceiling, as though waiting for a response that was not forth coming.

Legolas sat tensed in his chair as he followed his father's ranting with wide frightened eyes, while the king roamed around the room like some angry hornet set to sting anything in its path. The prince dared not move and scarcely breathed; afeared he should bring his fathers full fury upon him should he garner the king's attention.

The elf prince felt his cheeks burn with shame at his fathers scalding reprimand. And he could not prevent a slight tremble from shaking his wiry frame, as he waited to see what his fate might be. Thranduil had never harmed him before, physically at least. Legolas wandered if he had perhaps pushed the king too far this time though.

Thranduil was well known for his temper, but he rarely got so angry at Legolas. The king's fury was most often reserved for threats against Mirkwood…. And none of those were in any state to tell about it.

"P…please forgive me my lord." Legolas stammered uncertainly, breaking the tense silence that ensued his father's rage. "I do not…do not mean to dishonor you. I accept whatever punishment you deem fit for my unworthy behavior."

The king's anger dissipated as he saw the apologetic look on his young son's face. The boy looked too much like his mother. No one could stay mad at the child for long. Legolas had a good heart. He just never seemed to stay to the task at hand.

"Oh Legolas." Sighed Thranduil in exasperation. "What ever am I to do with you?"

Legolas dropped his eyes in shame.

He was such a disappointment.

"I…I don't know father." The prince quietly whispered as he hung his head in abashed submission.

Legolas kept threatening tears at bay. It was not proper for a prince to cry. He would not shame himself further by starting now.

Thranduil, in an act of fatherly love, laid his hand on his son's stooped shoulders, trying to instill a sense of comfort, for his unintentionally harsh words. The prince flinched slightly at the unexpected contact.

The move, though slightly unsettling to the king, only made the kings grip tighten further on the youthful shoulder.

He couldn't let Legolas pull away now. Since Legolas' mother had died the prince had distanced himself from the king…they had both pulled away. Each day was a reminder of the brimming gap between father and son. Thranduil could not bear to let the gap expand any further. The king feared he would lose his son in the darkness between them…and nothing frightened him more.

It was obvious the boy was afraid of him.

What had he done wrong that his own son should fear him so? Was he too cold or unintentionally cruel? He had never hit the child so why did Legolas flinch from him as though expecting a beating, like a cowering slave awaiting discipline.

King Thranduil knew he was a hard lord to please, and perhaps even a harder father, because he expected so much of his only child. To a soft hearted elf such as Legolas, his tough words could often be wounding when they were not intended to be. Thranduil only wanted the boy to finally achieve the potential he was certain the boy was capable of, to become the great prince the Valar had ordained him to be.

"My Legolas do you not know I love you?" Thanduil asked in a more gentle tone, as he stooped in front of the distraught young prince. He lifted his son's downcast chin up. "I would never harm you. Why do you tremble at my touch? You have nothing to fear from me, my son. You are the son of my blood and my heart. To hurt your would be to stick a knife through my own chest." Thranduil emphasized his own words by firmly placing Legolas' hand against the elf king's rhythmically pulsing chest.

Legolas offered a tentative smile as he felt the miracle of life rippling beneath his fingertips. "I know ada. I know you love me and I promise you I will do better." Legolas replied solemnly.

"I know you will my son." Thanduil nodded once, as though he had no doubts in his child's ability to make good on that promise, before quickly rising. A king should never be on their knees, it made them seem weak.

He turned his back to his son, overcome with such uncontrollable emotion that he felt it difficult to breathe. Thranduil stared out the window collecting his thoughts back into some semblance of order, as he locked his feelings tightly back away where they belonged. It was unbecoming for a king to show too much emotion. It made him look weak.

Thranduil's face hardening back into a stern visage of a great and powerful, though somewhat aloof king, before he could bring himself to face Legolas once more, never realizing how his action of closing himself off deeply wounded the young prince. It was like healing a wound, only to open it again and start rubbing salt in it.

Legolas had been emotionally deprived for so long now that it was physically painful to have such long sought after affection removed so abruptly once more, leaving a cold empty hole in Legolas' soul.

It was like the pleasant tingle of a warm fire on your skin before the door was slammed in your face leaving you out in the freezing snow of winter, a cruel taunt more than a briefly cherished gift.

Legolas knew that his father loved him, but knowing and seeing things were two different matters entirely. One was based on faith and the other on fact, and one only had so much faith to go around before one started to lose it.

" Now back to the matter at hand." Thranduil said gruffly, quickly directing the conversation away from this unfamiliar territory of emotions, completely oblivious to the fresh wounds he opened up with his callousness. "What are we going to do about these dwarves wandering about? Perhaps you could lead a troop to see they are taken care of Legolas? I should think a few picked dwarf heads placed around the perimeter of the forest should do the trick."

"If you wish father." Legolas replied morosely, as he fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.

"If I wish? Legolas, my son, what ever has come over you today? You've been so morose lately. Where is your enthusiasm? There was a time when I couldn't hold you back from a dwarf hunt. Now you look as though I've just ordered your execution."

"It's just that…well." Legolas eyed his father uncertainly, as though expecting his father to bite his head off at any moment.

"Out with it. A prince always knows what he means to say. You can't fluster your words or your subjects will think you a fool."

"Or course father, forgive me." Legolas bowed his head in supplication.

"And stop all this blasted apologizing." Thranduil scoffed. "Princes don't apologize. You mean what you say and you do exactly what you mean. Our people expect their rulers to be confident in our every word and action."

Legolas nodded his head in acquiesce, but a small frown edged his face, hidden beneath the golden locks blocking his discontent from King Thranduil.

Yet another reminded, from his father, that he was expected to be perfect.

Sometimes it seemed meeting his ada's expectations could be staggering, but Legolas would not fail his father again even if it killed him in the process.

"Do you plan on telling me the reason you are so hesitant to lead a troop of highly skilled elven warriors against the dwarves invading our forest or shall you leave me in further suspense for the remainder of the evening?" Thranduil demanded impatiently, forcibly keeping Legolas' wandering mind on the task at hand.

"Father I do not doubt the skill of our warriors. I believe any of them capable of such a feat." Legolas replied quickly hoping to appease his father's temper.

"Then what?" Thranduil pressed unwilling to be so easily pacified. "Why are you inclined to shirk your duties to your people? "What is it about my request that abhors you so?"

Legolas flinched as though verbally slapped by his father's accusing words.

The prince had a denial on the tip of his tongue, but he forcibly stilled the urge to defend himself. He had no wish to further argue with his father, and his honor was not the issue. There were matters of more important precedence that needed to be discussed.

"My lord I have no wish to harm these dwarves. They have caused us no harm. They avoid our people at all costs, and have shown no inclination to stay within our forests longer than necessary. The winter was harsh and I am certain they are only entering our woods out of desperation for game, to refill their own dwindling stores. I see no reason for bloodshed when they only seek to feed their families. We would do no less for our own." Legolas replied with utmost conviction.

He may have no love for dwarves, but he could not rationalize taking their lives when they were only trying to survive. Perhaps there was a time in his thoughtless youth when such senseless carnage would drive him with blood lusting pleasure, but he was no longer that same ignorant youth. Even the fiercest enemy was worthy of compassion at times.

Legolas had been watching these encroaching dwarves for some time now. They looked more haggard than he could remember of old, with a gnawing look in their eyes Legolas had come to associate with hunger. The stout creatures walked around in garments riddled with rips and tears that indicated long use and their weapons appeared rusted and old.

The dwarves, who were an undoubtedly proud race, arrogantly so at times, now walked the forests with stooped shoulders, despair clearly displayed in their desperate actions. Dwarves simply did not enter the forests of Mirkwood. It had been so for centuries and Legolas saw no reason why they should start now unless great need drove them to it.

The elf prince was loathe to admit it, but he felt with an inexplicable certainty that Sauron had some hand in this cold winter and the lack of game that accompanied it, perhaps hoping to initiate such a conflict between the two races. One that might leave both races so focused upon their own petty disputes that the true evil might remain unopposed until it was too late.

If only Legolas could make his father see. Thranduil in his pride would prefer to focus his attention on a few harmless dwarves, than look to face the greater evil of Sauron himself. And Legolas feared such stubborn pride might very well doom them all in the end.

"And how would you suggest we handle the beasts then?" Thranduil asked detestably, unknowing of the dark thoughts Legolas was currently entertaining.

"We could send an envoy, to ask them to leave our forests in peace. Or better yet we could negotiate trade agreements. I have heard the Glittering caves are well known for the gems they contain. We could barter jewels for meat. We have more than enough game to share and the jewels would be a welcome addition to the royal treasury."

"Barter with dwarves? Have you gone mad? Those….those creatures are barbarians. No civilized being could possibly reason with a sort such as them. Violence is the only thing those brutes understand. Where ever did you get such preposterous notions? Next you'll be suggesting we give the humans free reign to bring about Middle Earth's destruction.

Legolas averted his eyes, from his father's searching gaze lest he betray his heart, but it was to no avail. The prince's face was proof enough of his thoughts.

"Your silence speaks well for you my son." Thranduil replied in a disturbingly calm voice. "What would you have me do, give middle earth over to dwarves and humans? They are weak, flawed creatures. Their greed, their violent natures would destroy everything we have worked for. All the beauty of this world would be lost to their ignorance." The king replied with disdain.

"So let us teach them then." Legolas cried out with impassionment. "We can show them beauty, give them light. You have said yourself father that the time of the elves is ending. What then of Middle Earth? Would you leave it for Sauron to claim? Would you leave the mortals of this world to such a fate?"

"It is all that they deserve, for their betrayals." Thranduil answered furiously. "And Sauron is of no concern to us. Should he dare encroach upon our lands we will destroy him. We have defeated him before and we shall do so again.

"He already encroaches on our lands father. Have you not see the darkness spreading through our forests, suffocating all the light and purity from our home? I can FEEL him ada. Sauron is growing stronger as he gathers his dark forces against us. I can feel his hatred burning through me as he whispers despair in my mind."

Legolas could not resist a shudder running up his spine as Sauron's icy presence grew stronger as though speaking his name gave him power and focus. The young prince was filled with a wave of despair, whispering promises of failure, pain, and eternally damnation at Sauron's hand.

Legolas saw in his mind's eye the forests of Mirkwood burning into ash. The elves of Mirkwood fought futily against the invading hordes of orcs, wargs, and wraiths alike.

The stench of burning flesh and blood scorched the prince's nostrils and the screams of dying elves pounded agonizingly against his temples.

Woman fought daringly to protect their children, but fell beneath the wraiths demon bred beasts while their children were ripped about by savage wargs.

No quarter was given...no mercy offered. The elves were massacred in a blinding haze of hatred. And Legolas was helpless at the center of it all. He could not move, could not fight to defend his people. He was glued in place by powers beyond his understanding, forced to watch the destruction of all he held dear.

Silent tears fell down the young prince's face as he saw the end of all goodness, the scene of suffering forever burned into his memories.

His eyes were drawn by some commotion at the center of the carnage. There in a giant black beast, more fearsome even then the wraith's own demon mounts, rode a figure of such evil and malicious it surrounded him like a black cloud.

Legolas couldn't help, but gag uselessly against the very reek of his presence. It seemed to drain all light…all hope from the world. Raping the lands and people until they were soulless in it's wake.

The dark figure was cloaked in metal armor adding to his cold fearsome countenance as he led his gruesome troops through the waning defense of elves. He slashed and parried, killing elf and orc alike beneath his great sword, with seeming board disinterested.

While in one hand he carried his great sword in the other it seemed he carried the end of a great flag pole. But strangly there was no flag upon it. Legolas squinted his eyes against the abysmal shadows and shuddered as he made out a round elf-shaped head perched upon the large wooden pole…the king's head. His father's head.

Sauron carried the king's head like some grotesque trophy, as he progressively made his way to the palace doors.

Legolas felt bile rise in his throat and wanted nothing more than to expel the contents of his stomach. But this dark force kept him agonizingly paralyzed, unable to even look away from the horrendous scenes.

His father's eyes seemed to stare back at him with hopeless fear and anguish and Legolas gasped as air stubbornly refused to enter his lungs.

"No…" The young prince whispered out between stiff lips and air deprived lungs.

Sauron turned his mount towards the young prince, as though seeing him for the first time, and started to let out a cold peeling laughter that made the earth wretch and the trees quiver.

"The fall of Mirkwood….soon young prince soon." Sauron laughed with ominous confidence.

And then the scene seemed to change right before the prince's very eyes.

Legolas was no longer among the killing fields of a lost war, but in some dark sinister place.

The prince squinted his eyes looking around for some scant source of light….any light at all in such a place as this would be surely Valar sent.

After a few minutes a cold numbing realization hit the prince. This was the palace….his home….the throne room to be more exact. It was no longer a place filled with light and warmth, but dark, cold, and menacing. The rich tapestries looked like moth eaten dust collecting rags and the once bright plush carpets were now mud streaked tatters. The once elegant gold encrusted chandeliers that use to light this room lay in broken shatters in the corners of the room. No doubt plucked unceremoniously from their places of honor by light hating orcs and cast aside like worthless trinkets of junk.

It looked more a prison than a palace….or perhaps a tomb. Legolas shuddered uncontrollably at the thought as claustrophobia began to eat at his resolve.

A loud booming, frighteningly familiar laugh, jerked Legolas none too pleasantly from his thoughts and he turned with slow reluctance towards the throne, knowing with cold certainty what he would find there.

Sauron in all his dark majesty perched upon Thranduil's golden throne. The elf king's crown was perched upon the demon's head, not so much as a sign of power, as a mocking of the king who once wore it.

Legolas tried forcing himself to his feet, so he could confront this king slayer once and for all. Filled with a hopeless rage the prince surged to his feet prepared to fight to the death to see his father, his kingdom, and his people avenged.

But before he even got halfway up he was jerked roughly back to the ground. The sounds of clinking chains caught his attention and he looked around only to discover his arms and legs were firmly shackled to the palace floor.

Legolas pulled fiercely against his metal bonds, but they stubbornly refused to budge.

After several minutes of fighting uselessly against his chains the prince collapsed in exhaustion, breathing heavily from the exertion.

He reached his hand precariously to his throat. He felt like he was suffocating…he couldn't breath.

Legolas' hand collided with a metal barrier that prevented him from reaching the soft skin of his throat. After a bit of feeling around this metal perimeter the prince's look of consternation transformed into a look of aghast terror….it was a collar.

A cold metal collar encircled his throat binding him in ways mere chains never could.

The prince felt panic overtake him as he pulled frantically against the collar, unheedful of the further injury he caused him self in his panic induced haze to escape his bonds.

The sounds of cruel laughter burned his ears as orcs laughed at the young prince's pointless frenzy, savoring the young elf's terror and pain.

Above the orcs rose Sauron's booming laughter as he took in his golden-haired prize. His new pet….the prince of Mirkwood…the last elf of Mirkwood.

Sauron rose from his throne and walked down the steps that led to Legolas' stooped form.

Legolas immediately ceased his struggles, recoiling away from the offensive evil of Sauron.

This seemed to amuse the demon lord as he looked down possessively at the young helpless elf prince.

Relishing in Legolas' hopelessness, Sauron reached a cold metal gloved hand towards the trapped prince.

Unable to avoid Sauron, Legolas gazed at him darkly, shuddering away from the cold metal touch running down his cheek.

"Mine soon. All of it mine soon." Sauron promised darkly.

"No never." Legolas swore angrily. "you'll never take Mirkwood demon. You will never make me your slave." The prince added more weakly as Sauron's touch seemed to leak away the prince's resistance.

Legolas closed his eyes, bowing his head in failure. Everything was lost now, his home, his people, his family. He was all alone in this horribly dark place, a slave to a demon. He would never escape, and he could not save middle earth from it's ultimate doom. It was hopeless.

"There is always hope…." A voice seemed to whisper on the wind. It sounded so familiar…

Legolas lifted his head, for now ignoring the dark force settled over him. He looked around frantically for the source of the voice…his salvation. He would go mad without it.

"To deny hope only gives free reign to the darkness." The voice whispered again.

Legolas to his own frustration seemed unable to find its source, and yet he was warmed by the sense of it's presence. He suddenly did not feel overwhemled in utter despair. There was hope again.

"No…no. Who's there . What's happening? Your mine. Mine, you hear me? I will have you and I will have Mirkwood." Sauron began shrieking as he saw the light returning to the prince's eyes. The dark lord reached out to grab the prince, but his hand went straight through the golden-haired elf. He couldn't touch him.

"No." Sauron shrieked again. He was losing control. "You will submit to me. You have no hope. You will bow before me."

Legolas lifted himself to his feet. He was bound by chains no longer as he stood in defiance of the dark lord.

The young elf prince began to glow with a strange unnatural light that caused the dark lord and his minions to stagger backwards, covering their faces against the offensive light.

"You will not have Mirkwood Sauron. This is not the future you have shown me. You will be defeated, this I vow before all the Valar. I shall see that your evil no longer has a place on middle earth. You have no power here demon, begone!"

Legolas breathed deeply, as he willed the new found hope inside him to push away the darkness encroaching on his soul. And suddenly he was filled with a warm and reassuring feeling that drove Sauron's dark void away.

Legolas slowly opened his eyes feeling renewed and refreshed, alive in a way he had only experienced once before in the presence of a young human slave boy. The voice, the one that had called to him in Sauron's dark vision…it had been Estel's!

The elf prince looked up his eyes connecting with his fathers own wide startled blue ones.

"Wh…what did you do?" Thranduil whispered with ill-concealed awe. "I have never seen a wander such as this. Your light, it dimmed. And then a darkness came over the room that took away all light….all hope. I felt such despair come over me that I wished nothing more than death. But then your light began to pulse like nothing I've seen before. You glowed so bright I was nearly blinded, and then I was overcome with such confidence I knew I could face anything. I was never so certain of myself….never so hopeful. I do not know what has happened, but I feel as though some great war was just waged right before my eyes, and I saw none of it." Thranduil shook his head in an uncertain daze.

"I do not know either ada. I can not explain was has happened, because I do not understand was has occurred anymore that you. I felt such despondency come over me. I felt Sauron in my head whispering his dark thoughts, and he showed me such a horrible vision." Legolas shuddered as he was reminded of all he had seen. "I thought myself lost then, but then I was reminded of hope, and I suddenly had the power to force him from my thoughts."

Legolas rubbed his arm uncertainly as he answered, nervous over how his father would react, to this unexpected turn of events.

"This is truly a wondrous gift." Thranduil proclaimed with awe and pride directed at his son. "This is a blessing from the Valar."

"Yes the Valar…" Legolas whispered under his breath.

How the prince wished he could tell his father the truth. It was not the Valar who had bestowed this gift upon him, but rather a young slave boy named Estel.

Perhaps then his father would know there was hope for men still left in the world. Men where no longer a race bent only on greed and power. Men were no longer violent barbarians needing to be ruled and controlled by cooler heads, and Legolas feared deep down that perhaps they never were.

But no, it was not the right time. Legolas could not explain what held him back from spilling these pining mysteries, but he sensed that these secrets must remain just so for a time, for the boy's sake as well as all of middle earth.

But someday, Legolas promised determinedly, King Thranduil would see the greatness of men, and there would be peace and unity between the races once more.

Thranduil had begun to pace the room once more in his excitement, blinded to his son's thoughts. The king did not notice the consternation that crossed the young prince's face, at his father's undeserved praise.

Legolas had longed for his father to look on his with such pride and admiration for so long, but not for actions he had no control over. He couldn't even explain what happened much less if he had even been responsible.

"With such a gift as this Sauron will be no match for us now. The Valar has blessed us…forgiven out past failures. We are forsaken no longer. Thranduil said with joyous exclamation, and perhaps a bit of relief?

Legolas held his peace while the king became lost in his own soliloquy.

Legolas felt certain the Valar had never forsaken them, even in the darkest times after the ring remained undestroyed and the races of middle earth had shattered. Yet he knew it would be a futile debate against his father's stubborn certainties. When the elves could no longer create life, Thranduil had seen this as a sign that the Valar had abandoned the elves, and had thus in turn blamed the elves misfortune on the human race. For if the humans had destroyed the foul ring of Sauron, then the Valar would not have taken his anger out on the elves.

"No father." Legolas protested his father's misplaced ideas. "Not even the combined power of Mithrandir and the wizard's council could withstand Sauron's strength during the last great war. I have no power against Sauron…at least not enough to defeat him. It was only through the combined alliance of elves, dwarves, and men that we were able to end Sauron's reign all those centuries ago, and it is only with such an alliance we can do so again. Do you not see father? We can afford no more enemies. Only if we reforge the alliances of old will Sauron be defeated."

"It is because of men and dwarves that Sauron still lives.' Thranduil thundered, his eyes smoldering at the mere mention of allying with such traitorous creatures. "We lost too many lives in that war, my father among them. I will not see it happen again because of the incompetence of men and dwarves."

"And yet the devastation will be ten fold what came before without them." Legolas replied a haunted look in his eye. "I have seen it father, the fall of Mirkwood. Sauron will destroy us. We can not find him alone. We must rebuild the alliances of old or all is lost.

Legolas leaned forward in his chair and laid his hand gently on his father's arm, his eyes filled with a silent plea. "Please father, let go of your hate. Let these scars of the past heal before they consume you."

Legolas willed all the love he could into that simple touch, and for a moment it seemed to draw away the hurt and anger from Thranduil's eyes, leaving the compassionate king Legolas recalled from childhood….before his mother passed across the sea.

But as quickly as it had come, the image was gone and the deep rooted hate and despair hardened the king once more into the cold aloof ruler Legolas was all too familiar with.

"You are young. You do not yet know the weakness of men and dwarves." Thranduil replied.

Legolas let his hand slide forlornly off his father's arm, suddenly overcome with fatigue. The young prince hung his head in resignation. He could not fight his father's demons….

"Not yet, but you will be…light guardian." A voice seemed to whisper on the air.

Legolas jerked his head up in surprise. He looked over at his father, but no the king had not spoken again. Who was it? Estel? No the voice had sounded much older than that this time. The dread of uncertainty tightened in his gut as he tried puzzle out this enigma.

The elf prince perked up his ears waiting expectantly for further words, but none were forthcoming. Perhaps he had imagined the voice…maybe it had all become too much. Was he going insane?

"Legolas…my son, what is wrong? Speak to me." Thrandui shook the prince's arms roughly demanding response in the way of panic stricken fathers.

The prince blinked focusing on the blurry image of his frantic father bending over him.

"Ada…" he rasped between a strangely dry mouth. He felt so weak all of a sudden.

"Oh Legolas thank the Valar. You got so pale looking. I tried calling your name, but it was as though you were deaf and blind to me. I could not reach you. You moved not an inch and I was not sure you still breathed. If your eyes were not open I would have thought you dead." Thanduil ranted on in a panicked haze of words. The king still held Legolas tightly in his arms assuring himself that the prince was indeed alive and well. It seemed the day had been too much for the king as well.

"Do not fear for me. I am just weary father. Perhaps if I might rest a bit?" Legolas asked timidly. He knew there was still many matters of state business to be discussed, but he was just so tired. It was as though all energy had drained from him, and he could barely keep his eyes open now.

"Of course ion nin. You are excused. I am sure the dwarves can wait another day. As you said they're only a minor nuisance at the moment. We'll deal with them in good time."

Legolas was quite sure those were anything but his exact words, but he had no strength to argue the point.

The elf prince rose shakily from his chair, while his father watched his with troubled eyes. The king's muscled were bunched up and tense set to pounce should his son falter.

Legolas resolutely straightened his back and locked his knees, refusing to waver will his father watched him.

The prince took one hesitant step towards the door, then a second. He was pleased to find his steps steady. After only a few moments he had made it across the room, without swaying once. He set his hand against the door, preparing to leave, when his father's voice halted him in his tracks.

"If your up to it I would have you join me for dinner tonight Legolas. We will be having guests. It would do well to have you attend." The king requested politely. He had no intention of ordering his son to attend him this night when he feared for the boy's health. If these guests were no so important he would not even bring up the issue. Should Legolas refuse he would abide by his son's decision, his guests be damned.

"Guests?" Legolas turned back to his father with confusion in his eyes. He had heard nothing of guests coming tonight.

"Lord Elrond of Rivendell and his two sons." Thranduil supplied.

Legolas raised a questioning eyebrow waiting patiently for an explanation as to these unexpected visitors. After all it was well known that Thranduil had no liking for the elves of Rivendell, particular Lord Elrond. So what had led to this unexpected visit. Had his father invited them? To what end?

"A wise elf once said we can no longer afford to make enemies. It is only with allies at our backs that we can defeat Sauron. Perhaps I am not so ignorant of Sauron's ways as it would appear." Thranduil teased gently.

Legolas smiled as his own words came back to haunt him.

Legolas nodded his head in consent that he would agree to join his father and their guests for dinner before exiting the room.

Legolas nodded distractedly at the two guards standing vigil at his father's study, as the elf prince's thoughts carried him down the hall.

Perhaps there was hope for his father yet. Legolas smiled wearily.

"This is always hope lightbringer." A voice whispered on the wind, giving the prince much to think about.

To My Reviewers: I will be posting reviews. I didn't have time today and I figured I might as well go ahead and post. I have about 70 reviews to respond to so it might take a few days, but I intend to edit this chapter and post them once I get them all finished.

So thanks for all your reviews and please be assured that I have not forgot you. I don't want to rush through them with single sentence answers and I didn't think you would appreciate post-ponement of a long overdue story for them.