Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or Lord of the Rings.
A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers! Seriously, EVERY review means something to me. So, I'm gonna respond to the ones that I feel need responding to.
GildorInglorion: Thanks for reviewing! Faeron is the elfish name for Hugo, which means 'Spirit'.
Eternal Love's Eclipse: Thanks for the review! Thranduil's a little difficult for me to write, but I'll definitely try that the next time I write him!
Connortemple4evaneva: Thanks! Don't worry, we see plenty of Elrond. :)
Chapter 5
Glorfindel looked at Elrond, who was continuously pacing the length of the study, in general amusement. Long had it been since he had seen the Lord of Ilmadris like this: set on figuring out a puzzle. The Elf-lord was muttering how he just knew he had known that elleth in the picture.
"I just can't place it!" Elrond declared at last, clearly annoyed.
"M'lord," Glorfindel began softly, trying in vain to hide the laughter behind his voice, "Perhaps you ought to simply wait until the child wakes and ask him instead of tormenting yourself so."
"Perhaps I should." Elrond agreed.
"Speaking of our young patient, shouldn't we go check on him?" Glorfindel asked, looking toward the door that led into the hallway.
Elrond nodded his agreement and led the way through the halls to the child's room. Entering, they found the blond elf breathing easily; there was a peaceful expression on his face. A low moan came from him as the slight noise Elrond and Glorfindel made caused him to stir.
"W-What happened?" He asked in a confused voice.
"You were injured badly, little one." Glorfindel spoke before Elrond could, "But you are safe now. Where were you bound for?"
"Rivendell, to the house of Lord Elrond," The elf answered.
"Is there a matter you needed to speak to me about?" Elrond asked softly.
The youth's eyes widened as he saw Elrond for who he was, "L-Lord Elrond!"
"Calm down, penneth." The Lord of Imladris sat down beside his patient, "You're still hurt."
The boy looked instinctively at his arm; then closing his eyes briefly, "Oh."
Elrond smiled fatherly, "What's your name?"
"Legolas," The younger elf told them.
Memory flowed before Elrond's eyes like a waterfall before he answered, "Welcome to Imladris, Thranduilion."
Glorfindel too suddenly remembered the child. The warrior had met him on his last trip to Mirkwood, shortly after Legolas's mother had been killed. Glorfindel had gifted the grieving prince a beautiful and well-made bow.
"Are you here for your father?" Glorfindel inquired.
"No," Legolas denied, "I-I come here on my own quest."
"And what is that?" Elrond asked.
"I come to ask you for refuge from my father." Legolas whispered.
"Why do you need refuge from him?" Glorfindel asked, his shock and sudden worry audible in his voice.
"We argued terribly. He was so angry at me and…" Legolas faltered.
"What did you argue about?" Elrond questioned, not noticing how the boy had stuttered at the end of his statement.
"Well," Legolas sighed, "I slept with the trees, perfectly safely, for a single night and managed to miss some sort of dinner by accident. He blew up at me, and… well, I'd rather not talk about it. I just figured I'd better leave."
Elrond, not satisfied, but realizing he wouldn't get anything else out of Legolas, nodded, "Very well; why don't you get some rest?"
The blond elf yawned, "I would like that."
Elrond nodded gently, following Glorfindel into the hall and closing the door softly behind him.
Glorfindel smiled knowingly, "You already like him, don't you?"
"He's a sweet child." Elrond pointed out.
"I agree; he truly is very polite and kind." Glorfindel granted, his smirk not ceasing, "But you already look on him as a son and he's been here a day. Ai, Elrond, one day your generosity, kindness, and trusting manner are going to get us into trouble."
"You're impossible some days," Elrond groaned, rubbing his eyes, thinking back to Legolas, "The poor child, he's scared even now that he is here and safe with our protection."
"Elrond, mellon nin, he just ran away from home, it's going to take time for him to adjust." Glorfindel pointed out.
"Who just ran away?" Elladan inquired, walking over.
"The elf you found, ion nin (my son)," Elrond answered.
"Who is he?" Elladan questioned, curiosity burning in his eyes brightly, "Where is he from and why did he-"
"Slow down," Glorfindel interrupted; then answered, "He is Legolas Thranduilion of Mirkwood, and he left due to his father. He needs a friend, Elladan, I can just tell. Try to be pleasant and friendly."
"Of course," Elladan agreed, "I could sit with him, i-if that's okay and you think he wouldn't mind."
"Very well," Elrond found himself relieved to have his son so open to being friends with the other elf, "If you wouldn't mind changing the bandage on his arm in about an hour, you could do that too,"
Elladan nodded, smiling brightly, and Glorfindel raised an eyebrow, whispering under his breath, "That gets you out of math with Erestor, right?"
The older twin smiled sheepishly and whispered back, "Aye."
Grinning, the golden-haired warrior turned and followed Elrond down the hallway, leaving Elladan to care for Legolas.
Legolas blinked, bringing sight back to his eyes to find a young elf about his age with straight brown hair and twinkling eyes beside him. The elf, upon realizing he was awake, flinched a bit.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." The elf said.
"It's not a problem." Legolas shrugged, glancing down to see the other had been changing the bandage on his injured arm, "Thank you."
Smiling, the elf tied off the fresh bandage and held out a hand, "I'm Elladan, son of Elrond."
"Legolas, son of Thranduil," The prince supplied his name, realizing Elrond's son was trying to be friendly and took his hand.
Elladan shook his hand; then sat down beside him, "How do you feel?"
"Well enough." Legolas answered truthfully.
"Good," Elladan said with a bright smile, "Later, I could show you around Ilmadris, if you like."
Sitting up, Legolas questioned, "Why not now?"
Lowering his voice, Elladan whispered, "Technically, I'm supposed to be with my twin, Elrohir, studying math."
Legolas chuckled, apparently all young elves shared one thing: they hated schoolwork, "I see. So you're skipping your lesson to sit with me?"
Elladan nodded, looking sheepish, "Yeah, well… it's not like Ada doesn't know where I am or something."
"Tell me about your father, please." Legolas said, resting his head against the pillows, "Mine is very busy and distracted most the time."
"Ada isn't like that at all!" Elladan said, shock in his voice, "My adar always tries to make as much time for us as he can. He's a kind elf, and only actually punishes us for anything if it's really bad."
"Like what?" Legolas asked, intrigued.
Stifling a laugh, Elladan replied, "Well, one time, Elrohir and I managed to dump a bucket of water onto Erestor- he's one of my dad's advisors and our tutor."
Legolas found himself laughing, "Ai! I would never get away with that."
Elladan cocked his head, "What does your father get angry about?"
"When I miss his political dinners, I don't think anything gets to him more. The only problem is, I don't see him at dinner otherwise, and he doesn't think to tell me about them, so I never know. Half the time I'm doing something I had told him about the previous day. He doesn't have much time at all for me, and when he does, his attention is always somewhere else."
Elladan placed a sympathetic hand on Legolas's shoulder, "And you're here because…"
"I-I don't know where else to go. My father and I had our biggest argument in a long while. I left, as fast as Silverwish could carry me."
"Well, as long as you're here in Rivendell, my father will do all in his power to protect you." Elladan promised.
"Thank you."
Elladan nodded, "Come on. Erestor should be almost finished torturing my brother with math by now. We'll find him and show you around."
Smiling, Legolas eagerly slipped out of bed, quickly throwing on a fresh tunic and following Elladan out the door. Something told Legolas that this was the beginning of something wonderful.
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