Ok, I admit it. I really like this story, and I would like very much to get it to wear I had hoped to send the idea. So, for the time being at least, lots of readers, no readers, in between, I intend to finish this. We'll see what happens, though. In the meantime, I wrote this at work and I didn't proof it cause I don't feel good, If there are spelling errors, plot holes, I'm sorry. I really do feel like crap, so maybe you guys will forgive me.
One last thing: Kadorin and Luminal are characters from my Lost in Rivendell story, so don't be surprised you don't know them or that I don't provide a lot of backstory on them. In my stories of Mirkwood, they always exist. shrug Just turned out that way somehow. Enjoy!
----As soon as his father allowed it, Legolas made his way quickly to the healing rooms to check on the children. If he had his choice, he would never have been removed from their side in the first place, but he was pleased that the decision of the children's future was taken care of, at least for the moment.
When he opened the double doors of main healing center, he was relieved to see that there was only one elf maiden, and she was calmly monitoring the twins. The human babies looked monopolized in the large white bed, but Legolas hardly noticed when he saw how peacefully they were sleeping. The maiden looked up and smiled at him, her eyes conveying the need for silence as she gently led him back outside to talk.
Shutting the doors behind her, she turned to him with the smile still in place, but her eyes were still grave, and so Legolas' worry still knotted in his stomach. "Caun Legolas, you did very well in getting them here as quickly as possible. The fever gripping them comes from a common human illness, fortunately, so we recognized it quickly. Ordinarily this illness would only weaken a human for a week or two perhaps, but without treatment, rest, or water, it became dangerous enough to take their mother's life. It is fortunate you found them, for at their age, they would surely not have survived long."
By now the smile was completely gone as she talked of the twins mother's death, and she looked at him seriously as she continued. "Your quick thinking in getting water in them helped, and we have continued doing so, as well as bringing their fever down. They are out of immediate danger, but I feel it only fair to tell you that at their age, the illness severely weakened them. The girl should be fine with proper care, but the boy's system has been so ravaged by the fever and continued illness that it is unlikely he will ever be very strong. He will survive if he continues on as he is, but he will never be entirely well, and will always be prone to illness, or so I should think. It is hard to say, since we know so little comparatively of human's bodies and how they work. I will do some reading. I am sorry I could not give you entirely joyful tidings, but at least they will live." She apologized, her eyes sad.
Legolas nodded his thanks, placing a hand on her shoulder, before looking back to the door. "May I see them? I promise I will not disturb their rest." He assured her, and she smiled at him before nodding. "Alone?" Legolas ventured.
The woman seemed to think a moment, glancing behind her, before looking up to him and nodding again. "If you will stay with them until I return, then yes. I will gather some more herbs to help their sleep and ease their breathing. Send for a healer if they wake." She instructed, and Legolas agreed silently before she left, making her way down the hall without a backward glance.
Legolas glanced at the doors, pushing them open again and closing them behind him. He pulled a chair up to the twin's bed before laying a hand gently in Nanu's hair, smiling sadly at him. "Don't worry." He whispered. "Everything will be all right now. I will protect you." He assured them, and he could have sworn the babies smiled in their sleep.
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2 Years Later
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Nanufiren wiggled in his adopted father's grasp as Legolas tried to wrestle the child out of his sleepwear. "Be still a moment, ion, and let me finish!" Legolas said, blocking any traces of annoyance from his tone.
Baindemil giggled and tugged at her father's hair, making his job even harder. The twins were just barely over two, and their moods varied between bouts of extreme energy and happiness, to stubborn and whiny fits. The prince had his hands full with the two, but wouldn't take on a servant elf to help him full-time. His pride wouldn't let him, as he knew his father was still watching how he functioned under the strain of the children. He only allowed help when Thranduil required him at official gatherings. This was to be the first time he would take the children to anything that required the royal family's presence, as he had always worried previously that the twins would get into one of their moods and fail to make a good impression.
Today, however, the whole royal family was required to meet the party from Lothlorien. Legolas' youngest sister, Luminal, had stayed there a few years at the suggestion of Elrond, but Thranduil had decided that whatever risks there might be, Luminal belonged with her family. Besides, the youngest child of Thranduil had been writing for months now, begging to come home. The king of Mirkwood could finally no longer stand it, and had sent to bring her home, at least for a visit if nothing else. Legolas' older brother Kadorin had come back from the outer posts of Mirkwood for the occasion. The crown prince of Mirkwood had spent the past two days playing with Nanu and Demi, fawning over the children he rarely saw, despite Thranduil's insistence that there were importance preparations to make. Legolas had to smile when he thought of the effect his adopted children had on the crown prince from the very first time he had come home and met them, when they were only 5 months old.
In the company of Luminal would be Arwen Undomiel, who was to come in the stead of her grandmother with a host of guards, as well as her twin brothers, who had joined her from Rivendell. Legolas had not seen Arwen since she was a very young elfling, and the time had not been the most pleasant of memories for Legolas, so he was eager to see her again. Arwen had asked to accompany Luminal, as the two had quickly become friends, and it had been decided that it would be a good opportunity to renew communications between Lothlorien and Mirkwood, so Galadriel had proposed that Arwen be sent in her place. In all truth, Legolas was surprised Arwen's father had even allowed her to travel to Mirkwood, but a request from Galadriel was hard to refuse, even for the Lord of Imladris.
Legolas had decided it was time to introduce his children for the first time as the prince and princess of Mirkwood that he considered them to be, and what better occasion then when they were to first meet their aunt. However, the children thought otherwise, excited by the chaos around them as preparations were made, and wanted to play, as they were vocally and physically telling him. "Ada, nin play!" Nanufiren insisted, struggling towards the wide doors that led out into the gardens. Legolas sighed and tried to pull Nanu's right arm out of his top as his struggling made his father's efforts almost impossible.
Baindemil decided she had waited long enough, and grinning at her father, she tugged one last time at the golden lock clutched in her fist before crying, "Ada it!" She ran for the garden, giggling the whole way. The child looked over her shoulder the whole time, waiting for her father to come catch her.
"Demi!" Legolas called out in frustration, trying to keep Nanufiren from following his sister. "Baindemil Legolasiel! Come back here this instant!" He stood, picking up his son and placing him on his hip as he started after his wayward daughter, firmly intending to do…something! Deny her dessert tonight, that would be it. Everyone else would be celebrating and she would have to go to bed early, and her brother with her if this continued.
So deep in his thoughts, Legolas did not notice Kadorin enter the garden, nor did Demi, still watching her father and giggling. Kadorin, quickly seeing that Legolas most certainly did NOT want his daughter to play tag with him right now, scooped the little human girl into his arms. Demi let out a giggling shriek, hollering protests at her uncle, but he held her fast. "Demi, are you giving your ada a hard time again?" He asked her, giving a mock frown and tickling her stomach gently.
"She most certainly has, as well as her brother, and they will be hearing about it later tonight!" Legolas said sternly, coming up behind Kadorin. Demi, seeing the look on her father's face, hid into her uncle's shoulder, but continued to giggle quietly, still convinced it was a game.
Kadorin rolled his eyes gently. "Now, Legolas, you are starting to sound like our ada!" He said with mock horror. Demi giggled at his tone, and he grinned at her.
Legolas was not appeased, nor amused. "I am beginning to understand why ada sounds the way he does, with three children to deal with!" He said, reaching for his daughter, who laughed and shrieked again, burrowing into Kadorin even further.
Kadorin just smiled in the way that Legolas had always hated, but never failed to make him see the folly of his own thoughts. When Legolas finally sighed and readjusted his son into less of a death grip, Kadorin's smile gentled. "Would you like some help, little leaf?" He asked, reverting to Legolas' childhood name.
Legolas grimaced. "Kadorin, I have children of my own, I am far too old for such pet names." He complained. "But in answer to your question, yes, I would very much appreciate you helping me turn these two little unuais into royal members of the house of Mirkwood." He said, poking Nanufiren's ribs. The child giggled, knowing that if his father called him a monster, it really meant he was no longer angry.
Kadorin nodded his agreement, starting back towards his brother's rooms. "Yes, what is this, a spider's nest?' He asked, tugging at Demi's beautiful red hair, already a little past her shoulders, as the girl's hair grew as fast as the ivy surrounding the palace windows. Demi huffed at him, and he gave a hearty laugh.
Less than a half hour later, all four were presentable for the coming guests, the brothers' hair brushed to gleaming and braided gently out of their faces underneath silver circlets. Nanufiren's dark hair was similarly done with a crown as well, though a little less ornate, given his status as son of a prince, and the child tugged at it a little bit before his father chided him and readjusted it. Baindemil looked the part of a true princess of Mirkwood, her hair done in very careful knots of royalty that held her hair just behind her ears, a crown with the small leaves of the Mirkwood crescent formed by emeralds and joined by silver resting gently atop her head. The children were wearing the colors of the youngest members of the royal house, a gentle blue that gleamed in the sunlight with silver offsetting it beautifully. Kadorin and Legolas wore the traditional colors of their house, the green of their tunics vibrant against the paleness of their Mirkwood skin.
"Adar will send someone to seek us out if we are not at the gates soon. The party of riders was spotted almost an hour ago." Kadorin said, and Legolas nodded his agreement. The younger brother took hold of his children's hands and smiled at his brother.
"Thank you, gwador. Go on ahead, I want to speak to my children." Legolas said. Kadorin just smiled back and obeyed, as always, not asking any questions. Legolas loved that about his brother. Kadorin gave one small wave to the children and disappeared out of the ornate main doors of the prince's rooms.
Legolas immediately kneeled down to his children, giving them a brief hug before holding them out so he could look at their faces. "Nanufiren, Baindemil, today is a very important day. Your aunt is coming home, and she has never seen you before. I want her to like you very much, so you will be nice, will you not?" He asked sincerely, and the children nodded their ascent very seriously. Legolas smiled and continued. "Grandfather will be there too, so I want you to be on your best behavior for him, do you understand?" He gave his children a very discerning look, one they already knew required an answer they meant to keep. They nodded again, and their father's smile became relieved as he lifted one in each arm, pretending to struggle under their weight. "You two are getting so heavy! Soon I will not be able to carry both of you!" He said with an overdone grunt. The children giggled, and Legolas allowed his daughter to climb around to his back with his help, wrapping her arms around his neck. Nanu grasped his father tightly from the front, the twins' faces almost touching as they rested their heads on his shoulder. Legolas wrapped an arm underneath Nanu and laid a supporting hand beneath Demi, smiling as he remembered why he had adopted the children in the first place.
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Well? Any thoughts besides how far from the books this is or horrible the chapter might be:P Sorry, I am not as bitter as I sound. Really. Review please!