Chapter Two: Hurt

Tears ran down the six year old's face like little rivers. Sobs tore violently through him as he silently prayed to the Valar to let his Ada know what had happened to him. He hadn't known people could be so cruel. The human had seemed so nice, but apparently he had been seriously mistaken. Thranduil Oropherion rubbed his streaming eyes, his knees drawn tightly to his chest.

"Thranduil, is that you?" Thranduil scrambled to his feet and bolted into his Ada's arms. The sobs became harder and the tears came faster.

"Thranduil, what happened?" Oropher asked soothingly as he sat against the wall. But Thranduil was sobbing too hard to reply. The elven king rocked him gently, his heart breaking and his soul screaming at the sound of his son's sobs. He hated it when his son was upset. If his wife were here, she would know exactly what to do. But she had died several weeks ago in an orc attack and she could not comfort their sobbing son. Thranduil grabbed fistfuls of his Ada's tunic as he began to calm down, almost afraid of what would happen if he let go of Oropher's tunic.

"Ion-nin." Oropher whispered, his tone gentle. "Tell me what happened." Thranduil's breathing hitched, but he forced back the sobs that had begun to rise in his throat once more.

"Th-the trader." He began, his voice quite shaky. Oropher tightened his hold on his son. His stomach churned, fearing the worse. "He s-said he wanted t-to talk to me. Ada, he s-seemed so n-nice a-and I couldn't say no." Thranduil squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed back several gut-wrenching sobs.

"What did he do to you, Thranduil?" Oropher asked. His voice was shaky. He fought to stay calm, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

"H-he beat me!" Thranduil wailed. He began to sob, unable to keep himself together anymore. "I'm s-sorry Ada! I'm s-supposed t-to be str-strong!" He sobbed. Oropher swore he could feel his heart and his soul shatter. This was too much for him.

"Ion-nin, I do not expect you to not cry. I would cry, too." Oropher replied. He felt a tear trickle down his cheek, but he made no move to wipe it away. "Thranduil, what that man did was terribly wrong. And you are very brave for telling me about it. I promise you, that trader will not go unpunished." Thranduil shivered. He could sense the anger in his father's voice and it made him feel… safer. He suddenly realized that his Ada also had tears running down his face. The little elfling wiped his father's tears away with a shaky hand and Oropher returned the gesture.

Thranduil sat in the chair, swinging his short legs back and forth. He couldn't wait for the day that his feet could actually touch the floor while he was sitting. He felt a hand on his shoulder as the trader was brought into the throne room and he looked up into his father's face. Oropher smiled reassuringly at his son before turning a stern look on the trader. The trader's greasy, coal-black ,shoulder-length hair swayed back and forth as he was forced to his knees in front of Oropher and his son.

"Why don't you tell us what happened, Ion-nin. Tell us what this man did." Oropher told Thranduil. The elfling prince nodded, his unwavering gaze on the man before him.

"It was about an hour ago, not long after lunch. This man in front of me asked to speak to me. He seemed very nice, and I didn't see any harm in talking to him." Thranduil's gaze hardened. "I was wrong." Oropher nodded, his angry gaze on the trader.

"What happened next?" He asked his son.

"He and I decided we would talk in the gardens, in the more isolated part. That way we could talk in absolute privacy. As soon as we arrived there, his… personality changed completely." Thranduil continued.

"How do you mean?" Oropher asked.

"He got more violent, angrier. I couldn't scream for help, as no one would have heard me. And if I had run I wouldn't have made it far. He started hitting me. At first it didn't hurt much and I felt that I had a fair chance if I fought back." The elfling was beginning to get quite angry. "For the second time, I was wrong. As I struggled, he hit me harder."

"And what did you do?" Oropher asked. He was having difficulty keeping his anger in check.

"I slammed my foot into his crotch as hard as I possibly could. He doubled over and I was able to escape." Thranduil finished. Oropher nodded.

"Hadrian son of Éodred, you are under arrest for crimes against the crown of Greenwood. Guards, get this filth out of my sight." His voice was soft, but it was the amount of anger behind those words that made Hadrian quail. Once the guards led him out of the room and Oropher and his son were left alone, the elven king knelt in front of his shaking son and pulled him into a hug.

"I need to tell you something, Ion-nin." Oropher whispered. Thranduil nodded as he settled against his Ada's chest.

"What is it, Ada?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"Our tears are what make us strong. Tears are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of strength."