A/N: Happy birthday, Raina! I'm posting this a day early cause I have family visiting tomorrow. I'm sorry that this isn't a whole new story. I tried starting one just now and I couldn't get anywhere. I have a really nasty cold today (Boxing Day) so I can't think straight. Not that I'm really complaining; it could have struck yesterday but, apart from feeling a little down, I was fine. :) So I'm dedicating the last chapters of this to you, and I do have the first chapter of another story which I wrote for you some time ago, but I'm going to wait until my January exams are over before doing anything more with that. I'll try and post the final chapter asap. I hope these chapters please you XD All my love, Eli
A/N 2: Legolas is very young, so obviously everything minorly bad that happens is a disaster!
"Are you coming down to breakfast or not?"
Erestor's firm tones surprised Legolas, and he leapt up from where he'd been sitting on the balcony and bobbed slightly to advisor. "I really am sorry about yesterday," he squeaked, "I didn't think."
Erestor smiled quietly, "Even so you must learn this lesson. But fear not; you are here to relax, not to be punished. Depending on how well you work you and the twins may be finished by morning. Come now; the sooner you're up the sooner you can start. And the sooner you start, the sooner you'll be free."
Legolas dodged round Erestor and through the open door. "Where's Ada?" He asked in the corridor.
"He is busy at the moment, penneth. He asked me to fetch you."
"He doesn't love me," Legolas said, quietly.
Erestor spluttered, "Of course he does! Why wouldn't he?"
"He was disappointed with me all yesterday. He doesn't love me anymore."
Erestor stepped in front of the Elfling so Legolas had to stop. He knelt down to his level: "You made a mistake yesterday, penneth, and your father was giving you space to think about what you have done."
"But he's never done that before."
"Because he usually doesn't have the luxury. Believe me, Legolas, he loves you just as much as ever he did. Just because he was disappointed with you for a few hours doesn't mean years and years of love disappears like smoke on the breeze. As for why he isn't here right now; he's helping me so you can have your time to yourself again sooner."
Legolas eyed him, "Promise?"
"Promise."
Legolas huffed, "Okay." And he allowed himself to be led down into the kitchen.
The twins were already there. They bobbed nervously at the counsellor and pushed the crusts of their toast around their plates.
"Eat quickly," Erestor told Legolas, who nodded and ate his toast plain.
"What do we have to do, Erestor?" Elladan asked, trying to be humble and only half succeeding.
"I have always believed that the punishment should fit the crime," Erestor said, standing at the head of the table next to Elrond and Celebrian, "therefore you shall be bringing the rooms you wrecked back to order."
The three Elves relaxed; that didn't sound too bad.
"And by the way, you owe Thranduil a favour as well. You'll see why in a minute."
The twins slumped back into their seats and stifled groans.
Half an hour later found the three of them standing in the library side room, slowly spinning and taking in the damage. It mainly consisted of scattered papers, but even so it represented hours of work.
"I blame you for this you know," Elrohir said.
"Me?" Elladan exclaimed.
"Mae."
"Why me?"
"Because this was your idea."
"And yours."
"A mere technicality."
"When you two have quite finished," Erestor said, cutting across their argument, "there's an index of where things should go over there," he pointed to a small table in one corner, clear of everything but a very large scroll, "and everything else is here somewhere." His smile was the exact opposite of the twins' expression. Legolas' expression didn't change from one of careful acceptance. "One other thing," Erestor suddenly added, "for goodness' sake don't send Legolas up the ladders. Understood?"
"But he lives in a forest, Erestor. He climbs trees!"
"Not while holding heavy books he doesn't."
The twins pursed their lips but didn't argue. Erestor motioned for Legolas to follow him, "Just before you join the Twins-" 'join' meaning 'you two twins had better have started when we get back' "-I have kept someone from you this morning and I need to rectify that situation."
Erestor led him through a narrow door between two of the book cases, and in a small room beyond there was a desk, set out for two people though one chair was vacant. Documents spread across the table, and various inks and quills lay in a dip in its centre. Candles had burnt low, as had the fire in the grate, but this didn't matter as the morning light streamed through windows high up in the walls above yet more shelves.
The Elf still at the desk looked up from the parchment he was working on and smiled. "Suilad, penneth." He set down his quill, pushed back his chair, and spread his arms. He was wearing the same clothes as he had the day before, his hair was tied up out of the way with a green ribbon and his fingers were ink-stained. Legolas shuffled towards him and clambered onto his lap. Thin yet strong arms held him there. Forgotten, Erestor tied his hair up with the white ribbon on his side of the table and settled back down to work.
"Once a scribe, always a scribe," he said flatly, before a rustle of papers showed his getting back to work. Legolas shifted position to watch him.
"Don't say such things, Erestor!" Thranduil exclaimed, "It leaves such little room for improvement."
"This from the king who jumped at the chance to help me recopy the damaged documents."
"True."
Legolas felt miserable. So Ada would rather replicate words than say good morning to his own son. He was willing to bet that Celebrian never forgot to wake her sons herself. For the first time in a long time, Legolas missed his mother.
Thranduil stroked his son's hair. In his temper, Legolas found his father's fingers freezing and like talons. "I'm sorry I didn't come and see you, penneth, I lost track of time." Legolas tensed as his father kissed his temple, then began wriggling,
"May I leave now?"
"Of course." Thranduil couldn't keep the hurt concern out of his voice. Legolas dropped down from his lap and returned to the twins without a backwards glance.
Despite the twins' determination to loathe and despise every moment of tidying, as soon as the time came for them to climb the ladders they had to concede that they were enjoying themselves. Even Legolas' annoyance at being resigned to the floor evaporated as the twins raced each other to the top of the bookcases and down again. As they neared completion, Erestor came to check on them. "You aren't supposed to be enjoying yourselves!" He chided in jest. Legolas and the twins hung their heads until the advisor had retreated to his small room, whereupon they began silently imitating his manner.
They finished as the bell for lunch tolled and left without permission but having finished their task.
"I love Erestor," Elladan announced as they walked along the corridors to the kitchens, "he just can't keep grudges."
"He's firm though. Do you remember the time we tried to tripwire the main stairs."
Elladan grinned and Legolas clamoured for the detailed story.
"You aren't putting ideas into his head, are you?" Celebrian asked with the trio reached the kitchen and she caught the end of the tale of a reckless adventure.
"Of course not, Naneth," Elrohir reassured her as Legolas clambered onto her lap. Celebrian looked down in surprise but didn't throw him off. Right then, Legolas was oh so jealous of the twins. Celebrian's lap was so much more comfortable than his father's, he couldn't feel her ribs through her chest and she wasn't cold like Thranduil but actually felt alive. In his annoyance, Legolas had forgotten that Thranduil tried to make up for his bony frame by papering his son, whereas Celebrian was talking to him no more than she was to her own sons as they organised what to do now they had the long afternoon to themselves again.
"I suppose it's too late in the day to go up to the waterfall," Elladan was saying.
"I don't see why-"
"By the high road."
"Oh." While it took only an hour or so to reach the falls by the low road, the high road wound far more and was so overgrown now that one needed a sharp blade to travel it. It could easily take the rest of the daylight just to get to the falls. "Does it have to be the high road?"
"We intended it to be an adventure for Legolas."
Celebrian bit her lip, "Well if you take a lantern with you and provisions, and have a quick lunch, I think you can still do it."
Elladan clapped, "Quick with luncheon, then."
oOo
"Are you coming down to lunch?" Erestor asked as he and Thranduil rose and Thranduil donned his coat once more.
"I don't think so," the king replied as he pulled his hair out from under his collar and undid the ribbon. "I'm not hungry."
In fact he couldn't think of anything other than the need to get somewhere noisy, to drown out the low humming singing he could hear between his ears.
Erestor closed an eye, "I worry about you sometimes, meldir."
"And I worry about the world," Thranduil replied, "Makes us even."
"Thank you for helping me. They would have taken so long to copy up on my own."
"Well they weren't done in no time at all even with the two of us. How long have we been working on them now?"
"Don't!" Erestor exclaimed, stretching his cramped limbs. "Well, I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of the day."
They separated in the corridor, with Erestor heading to the kitchens (where the Elflings' quick lunch was in fact taking quite a while) and Thranduil heading for the gardens.
From a high vantage point far down the garden, Thranduil leant on a tree and watched the spectacle unfolding around the plunge pool of the waterfall. Every so often, a group of friends would dare each other to stand directly under the falls, and to stand there as long as possible while the waters hammered onto their bare shoulders. It was a male sport; though some women came down to bathe in the waters they kept their shoulders covered and were therefore disqualified. It had to be said that, in this case, both the women outlasted all seven of the men under the falls by many minutes. But it wasn't the game which so intrigued the king. Even from where he was, the falls' roar was loud. Standing underneath them the noise must be deafening. All at once, he made up his mind and went back to his rooms to get the necessary items before making his way along the low path to the waterfall.
It was at about this time that the twins and Legolas finally began their intrepid adventure along the high path. The climb up from the granary was steep and surprisingly rocky. The twins surrounded the little prince, which was just as well as his weaker limbs occasionally failed him and he was saved only by Elladan behind him. After meters of sheer cliff, the path levelled out and was surprisingly easy going for a long while, so long as the three put the sheer drop to their left out of their minds. It was slow going, for many creepers and sometimes even branches of trees blocked their path and had to be hacked through with the sturdy knife Elrohir had brought for this purpose. But Legolas smiled; his tunic was snared, there was dust and dirt on his face and he was slightly out of breath: he felt that he was finally properly exploring.
When Thranduil reached the near bank below the waterfall, no one else was there. Or at least, no one else was down at the base of the falls with him. He had a basket with him which, though it contained a towel, was mainly for his clothes so they didn't get overly dirty. Kicking off his boots, he stripped to his undershirt and hoes and walked out under the falls without the ceremony those competing had demanded. The shock of the force and coldness of the water took his breath away at first but he soon grew accustomed to it. It wasn't the water he was interested in after all, not directly anyway. The roar of it drove out anything else. He couldn't hear the birds in the trees mere feet away, or the usual business conversations of passers-by turn to varying degrees of amusement as they saw Greenwood's king under the waterfall. All there was was the noise of the water. He closed his eyes and swept his already sodden hair away from his face and breathed in deeply. He would have smiled had he thought to do so.
"What's going on?" Elrond demanded as he approached the knot of people which had formed on the paths around the falls, paths which, though they came near, didn't lead to the rushing waters. He was allowed through to the front and blinked several times at what he saw. The hems of Thranduil's light blue hoes flapped wetly against his ankles in the slight draft from the rushing water. His light blue shirt stuck to his thin frame, translucent now and heavy. It accentuated the king's thinness; his arms too thin to be just lithe, the deep hollows around his collarbone and the narrowness of his waist. Elrond swallowed; he knew that that shirt, which now hung off the Sinda as though made for someone else, had once fitted the Elf like a glove. Not so long ago. When MÃriel still lived. The worst part was Elrond knew he was the only one in this gathering who saw someone wasting away. The others were too captivated by Thranduil's beauty, his perfect skin showing through the deep V-neck of his shirt as well as his face and hands, his long slender fingers which were considered highly desirable by all races of Elves, his hair, more brown now rather than golden yet still waving despite the weight of the water in it, his gently closed eyes. Standing there, Elrond realised that Thranduil relied on this beauty to hide his troubles, the rest of him which was too near starved to be envied. His next realisation forced Elrond to turn and leave; unless something was done Thranduil would let his grief kill him, and Elrond was damned if he would let that happen.
Thranduil didn't know any of this. Didn't know of the envious looks cast in his direction. Didn't know of the plans beginning to form in Elrond's mind which concerned him closely. He didn't even know that he was too thin. He just never had a large appetite, that was all.
"Look at that view!" Elladan exclaimed, pulling Legolas in front of him so the Elfling could see what he saw. A break in the trees below them offered a panorama across the whole valley. Its beauty took Legolas' breath away.
"I wish I lived here!" He whispered, awed.
"You aren't the first person to say that," Elladan told him, "and I have a feeling you won't be the last."
"Come on!" Elrohir called from further up ahead, "We're almost there! Do you want to have time to go for a swim or not?"
"Don't run!" Elladan warned the younger Elf as Legolas made to dart past him to Elrohir. Elrohir raised an eyebrow in challenge to his twin before turning round and walking just before the princeling, as before.
For a split second.
Then Legolas was screaming. Elladan rushed up to him in disbelief and both watched as Elrohir tumbled down the valley side, coming to rest far below them against a tree.
"Stay here," Elladan ordered Legolas before skittering down after his twin. He found him dazed but otherwise alright, or so Elrohir claimed. But then he couldn't see the angry gash in his arm. "Legolas!" Elladan called again, "Get help, quick!"
Legolas nodded and, scrambling up into the trees, ran along their boughs towards the falls.