Hi guys, sorry this is late...I spent forever last week typing out over 6,000 words for this chapter...only to lose it all when my laptop broke. I was gutted...I had worked and am still working through through heat sickness and a nasty ear infection at the moment! I broke down and cried. But, I didn't give up! This is rubbish compared to what I did write but after losing the original I'm past caring, to be honest.

Thank you to everyone who had reviewed, followed and faved this so far. I really, really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Things probably seem happy now, but I'm not planning for them to be for long. Enjoy whilst you can ;)

Yes, I've decided to give Glorfindel and Thranduil some history. No, it probably won't be something that plays a great part in this story...so if you're a stickler for solid canon I apologise (though, if you were you'd probably have already given up on this but that is beside the point). I figure that it is entirely possible that Glorfindel may have visited Menegroth at some point and met a young Thranduil (I'm placing Thranduil's birth around 30-40 years before the Second Kinslaying).

Chapter 4

"We've almost arrived, hir nin." Elrond jumped slightly at their escort's words. He nodded at the warrior before turning to look behind him, prepared to put a stop to the hissed insults that were currently being exchanged by his children.
"Enough," He said coldly, with as much dignity as he could muster in front of the Mirkwood scout. The trio shut their mouths instantly; they at least knew when it was time to be obedient. Arwen looked guiltily at him, whereas the twins at least had the grace to look contrite even if they weren't. He turned back to watch the path and as he did so caught a glimpse of Glorfindel's grin.
"It appears, my friend, that you have developed the rather convenient ability to ignore them." The golden-haired elf laughed.
"Hmph. I should be so lucky. Silly elflings." Erestor muttered as he casted a scowl at the younger elves behind him. Elrond send a questioning glance at the balrog-slayer.
"They ignored him when he asked them to be quiet," Glorfindel explained with a laugh, and for good measure Erestor glared at him too. Elrond couldn't help but smile though he knew he shouldn't.

XXXXXXX

What little remained of their journey passed quickly and they soon reached the outskirts of Eryn Galen's main conurbation. Once they passed another patrol, signs of the area's occupation came thick and fast. The trees thinned out here in comparison to other areas of the forest they had ridden through, but the majority of them had a talan in their boughs. Most of their inhabitants were working or resting on the forest floor in the wide spaces between the trees. Curious elves turned to watch them pass, and more than a few greeted them in a friendly manner. In the distance between the trees Elrond could see the sheer stone slopes of the small mountain in which Aran Thranduil dwelt. They were on a small path, likely seldom used by anyone other than the residents of the talans in this area and Elrond had most definitely not used it before.
He glanced behind him and was pleased to see the twins behaving completely. He noted how quiet and watchful the normally merry folk of Eryn Galen were and put it down to the queen's death and fear of the horrific spiders that haunted the forest – spiders that he was extremely grateful they hadn't encountered on their way here. As he contemplated the effects of the encroaching darkness in the south of Mirkwood, they turned onto a much larger path.
"We're here!" The twins said in unison, recognising the road as the main one to the keep, which was far closer than Elrond had originally thought. They had turned onto the road just a few feet from the bridge across the Forest River, which they would cross before continuing on through the forest for a few hundred yards before they would encounter the palace.
"As light as ever," Glorfindel murmured. "This place at least has been kept from the darkness."
"Yet the queen perished not so far from here in what should have obviously been a safe place." Erestor replied immediately.
"Thranduil struggles daily with the evil in his forest. With as little aid as he has, I'm impressed he is doing half as well as he seems to be. Yet I fear that for all his efforts it may prove to be a fruitless conquest." Elrond said, and before either of his friends could reply, he silently asked them for silence. It would not do to have such conversations in public...in the very realm they were discussing. He had noticed how tense their escort had become whilst overhearing their short exchange. Erestor and Glorfindel picked up on it immediately and didn't broach the subject again. Elrond watched the elves around them stop their work to see the foreigners pass by. The settlement was not the most easily accessible of places, and he guessed that they rarely had visitors whose importance was beyond than that of a merchant. They drew ever closer to the caverns. Intricately wrought iron gates marked the boundary of the palace's courtyard and through the gaps in the metal Elrond could see Thranduil and his court awaiting their arrival. The gates swung open as they approached. The last remaining elvenking was an imposing figure. Tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, he was strikingly similar to his father in appearance. They shared the flaxen hair that shone like spun gold in the sun, and striking emerald eyes that often seemed so guarded, yet held so much expression to those who knew him well. Today though, the elvenking was a little less imposing. Naturally, he was mourning the loss of the elleth he had bound his fea and hroa to. Elrond knew some of the pain he was feeling, had felt it himself. The king probably looked as though he was doing reasonably well to people who hadn't met him before...but to those who knew him, he looked terrible.
"Mae govannen, Lord Elrond! And welcome to Eryn Galen," Thranduil's battle-trained voice was perfectly pitched to carry across the courtyard without the need for shouting. Loud as it was, his voice was hoarse and raw. Elrond saw the dullness in his eyes, the way his normally proud bearing was non-existent, and the careless way in which he greeted them. He inclined his head slightly before touching his breast with his right hand, swinging it outwards in the traditional elven greeting, but the movement was less graceful and more just a random gesture.
"Mae govannen Thranduil, Aran O Eyrn Galen." Elrond said formally, returning the formal greeting before stepping closer and clasping the other elf's shoulder firmly. "It has been too long," He said with a soft smile. Thranduil merely nodded once before his pained eyes flicked to Erestor and Glorfindel.
"Ah, the Lords Erestor and Glorfindel. Welcome, old friends." Thranduil said, and the two lords smiled at him.
"Still friends then, are we? I was beginning to wonder!" Glorfindel teased, but his smile vanished when the jest had no effect on Thranduil at all. Once again, the elvenking's only reply was a curt nod. Elrond saw Glorfindel's put-out expression before the elf quickly covered it up. The two had been good friends, having first met in Menegroth before its fall and again in Lindon after the balrog-slayer's re-embodiment. Erestor also bowed and Thranduil turned to Elrond's children.
"Welcome back, young ones." He said, and for the first time a smile flickered at the corners of his mouth, though it didn't spread any further. The three inclined their heads in unison.
"Mae govannen, Aran Thranduil." They spoke together.
"It is a pleasure to return here, lord." Elladan said with a small smile.
"It is a pleasure to see you all again." Thranduil replied before turning and beckoning encouragingly to someone Elrond couldn't see. Then, a small elfling slipped from beside one of the elleth on the steps and came down to stand beside Thranduil.
"This is Legolas, my son." The elvenking gave them a true smile as he gently pushed the elfling so that he moved forwards a couple of steps. Legolas bowed and offered his hand in greeting before shrinking back against his adar's legs. Elrond started; even as Thranduil closely resembled Oropher, this little one was the spitting image of him. He smiled at the child.
"Hello, Legolas. It's very nice to meet you," he said. The elfling's gaze darted up to his adar but he didn't reply. As he watched Legolas' eyes flick up, Elrond noticed their colour. Legolas' eyes were a clear blue, whereas Thranduil's were a bright emerald green. Not entirely a spitting image, Elrond corrected himself.
"Make the most of his silence whilst you can; he is normally full of questions." Thranduil said, a slight frown now on his face as he gazed at his child.
"Oh, I don't doubt that. Remember what these three were like?" Elrond said wryly, nodding his head back towards the twins and Arwen.
"Indeed, I do." Thranduil said but any traces of happiness he had shown at Legolas' appearance had vanished and the unsmiling mask was back in place.
"Remethiel and Cugedhiel will show you to your rooms," Thranduil said, and two elleth came forward and curtsied. "The bell will ring for dinner. Until then, I will be in my office...you are most welcome to partake in whatever activities you wish. Nowhere here is barred to you." Thranduil nodded to them before disappearing into the caves.
"Well, let's get settled in then." Erestor said. Elrond nodded absentmindedly. He was thinking about how awful the king had looked.
"I'm glad we came, Elrond. I fear for him." Glorfindel could have read his mind.
"It is only natural that he grieves." Erestor frowned. "Who wouldn't? Many come close to fading after the loss of a loved one-" And then the lore master clamped his mouth shut. Elrond smiled faintly.
"You don't have to guard your tongue around me, Erestor. I am perfectly capable of hearing you talk about loss. Celebrian...is gone, and I am as recovered as I am going to get." Erestor nodded to him and continued.
"As I was saying, many come close to fading after losing a loved one...especially a family member like a wife, child, parent or sibling. Thranduil with teeter on the brink. But he will endure as most others do."
"You don't know him like I do." Glorfindel countered. "He has lost so much already, Erestor. Parents, family, everything. He encounters happiness for the first time since the Last Alliance in the form of his wife...and then she too is taken from him." Elrond grinned ruefully. Just like turned to his friends.
"I brought us here because I, as you know, experienced this too. Thranduil cannot afford to fade. I cannot afford to leave it to others to prevent him from doing so. He is a friend, a close friend at one point. I can help him and so I will. Not only is he a friend, he is the king of a dying forest. A forest that has only survived this far because of his sheer, dogged determination. His people thrive here, away from the darkness. The loss of Lostariel their queen was a stark reminder of what lies to the south. If they lose Thranduil...what then will become of them? No one else can afford to take on the burden that is Mirkwood, I can't and Celeborn and Galadriel can't and these elves will not leave their beloved forest to its doom. They will fight and die. And Sauron, if it is indeed Sauron, will be even closer to gaining mastery of Middle Earth."