Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Lord of the Rings.
Note: thanks for the reviews. I need ideas, let's begin.
This is boring.
Legolas Thranduilion, prince of the Woodland Realm now known as Mirkwood crossed his long legs at the anklets, hands brushed the imaginary wrinkles from his handsome robes. The prince schooled his features into careful interest as he glanced about, blue eyes watching all the other elves in the council with them.
King Thranduil sat in his chair, hair bound away from his face but Legolas could see how the green eyes narrowed in a way that told Legolas that his father was incredibly bored, as was he. The council member who was speaking went on for a while longer about the heavy weather they had been having in the past few weeks.
"And what, pray tell, would you like me to do about that?" King Thranduil held up a hand, raising golden eyebrow as he continued. "I cannot control the weather. You should pray to the Valar for this and hope that they will listen to your prayers."
"But, my lord, the harvests will fail and…"
"We'll apply to Lake Town to ensure that our people will not starve. Our stock is still full…." Legolas understood the message his king was not saying. With the increased attacks on our people, we do not have that many mouths left to feed.
"But that is enough of this dreary subject. I have called the council together to introduce a guest, a very special guest here today." Thranduil nodded at Legolas and the prince rose to his feet with ease. His long legs took him to the doorway and he stepped out into the hallway, seeing the hunched over figure of his human friend sitting a little way beyond on the bench.
He approached Aragorn and the man glanced up, grey eyes hazy in the light of the torches. "It is time." Legolas merely said.
He had not approved of Thranduil's decision to introduce Aragorn to the council of Mirkwood. The man had yet to recover fully from his near encounter with the orcs and while Aragorn was slowly improving, it was a long while before the man could move without pain or getting tired quickly.
Aragorn nodded and he rose, swaying when he overbalanced himself and upset his healing wound. Legolas reached out immediately to claps Aragorn's arm. The man held on for a second, eyes closed and his breathing harsh.
"Thank you." Aragorn said as he opened his eyes, he was a little bit paler then a moment before and Legolas cursed his father. If only Thranduil hadn't been so stubborn and had used the 'I'm king, obey me' speech, things could have been a lot better between him and his father.
"I am ready." Aragorn said after a moment and Legolas gave a nod, leading the way. Aragorn had been given fresh clothes by the servants because the few clothes that he had on him were not suited for a council chamber.
Legolas held open the door and Aragorn entered, his gait easy and regal, almost like lord Elrond. Only the man's eyes betrayed how nervous he was as his eyes shot over the assembled elves. Most were staring at him in polite curiosity but there were some stares which seemed to contain a touch of hostility.
"My lord, what is this child of men doing here?" One of the elves asked, glaring at Aragorn. Legolas bit back a curse and took his seat, inviting Aragorn to take the seat beside him as Thranduil stood regally and said.
"This is Aragorn II, the son of Arathorn and chieftain of the Dunedin…"
"My lord, he is just a child even by their reckoning. I did not know that the people of Numenor had dwindled so much that they left their leadership to a child." The elf said coldly and Aragorn's lip curled before he said, addressing the elf directly.
"They did not, my good sir. I only resumed my birthright this year and I have decided to travel, to learn from the other people and races in Middle Earth before I resume any leadership role. I had an unfortunate accident when I tried to cross the Misty Mountains and the scouts of the elves of the Greenwood saved me and brought me to the palace. I own my life to them and king Thranduil invited me attend the council to learn more about the elves of Mirkwood but if my presence offends you then I will leave."
Aragorn's speech was polite, his tone impeccable but yet Legolas could almost picture lord Elrond standing there, speaking the same words in the same tone and in the same manner. He does resemble his adopted father. What game is Atar playing at?
"Does Aragorn's presence offend you, Celurim?" Thranduil asked coldly, stepping into the circle of the chairs and the elf quickly shook his head, taken aback by the sign of support from the ancient king to one so young.
"Good, now as I may finish my tale, Aragorn has travelled from the village up north and came to explore the lands east of the Misty Mountains. He is an ambassador of Rivendell as the legal adopted son of lord Elrond."
"And why is he here then, my lord?" The elf who had spoken earlier asked and Legolas bit back a sigh. Sometimes there was something to be said for living by the sword. At least his companions listen to him without arguing.
"I believe I have told you that a moment ago. Unstop you ears, Celurim or go and see a healer about your problem." Thranduil was at the end of his patience as he snapped. The younger elf didn't meet his glare for long before he looked away.
Aragorn sighed; this was the last thing he needed, Thranduil making enemies for him. Legolas shot him a glance and then lay a light hand on his arm, showing his support and Aragorn sighed. He had promised not to let his temper rule him but it was hard, very hard.
He forced a smile to his face as Thranduil took his seat and gestured to one of the servants. "Bring some light refreshments and tea. I think that we will be here for a while."
Aragorn sighed. There went his plans to go for a walk along the beautiful paths in the hidden city. He had not had the change to properly explore Mirkwood, even when the woods were dangerous; the city of the elves was well protected from all evils.
"Now, I've called all of you together to discuss an issue with Lake Town. Recently the people of Lake Town have experienced attacks from wild man up to the north. They applied for protection to both the Dwarves of the Iron Mountains and from us. The major of the town called together a council and we need to send a representative of Mirkwood who can speak for the elves."
Thranduil's lip curled when he said the word dwarves and Aragorn's eyes shot towards Legolas. The elf shook his head, tense suddenly. For some really Aragorn had a feeling that this was something that was not going to bode well.
"And have you decided upon a representative to send?"
"I've decided upon two, hence the reason why Aragorn's presence is so important. We all know that the wild men have plagued the countries of the north for many years and for many years the chieftain of the Dunedin have send supports to drive them out of our lands but with the death of Arathorn and end came to that agreement. The lands in Middle Earth are darkening and what once was safe is no longer…"
Thranduil paused to take a deep breath as the green eyes seemed far away suddenly. Aragorn shifted in his seat but kept silent before the king continued.
"Each race has grown more selfish because they look to the protection of their own people first, which is not surprising. To rally the forces of Middle Earth would take skill and cunning, to reason with all the people, elves, men, dwarves and orcs alike is impossible for many races have grown suspicious of one another and the friendships that were between elves and men or elves and dwarves have disappeared or grown under stress."
You would not approve of a friendship between elves and dwarves, father so do not pretend otherwise. You hardly approve of a friendship between men and elves so where are you going with this?
Legolas' blue eyes fixed on his father as they narrowed in suspicion. Thranduil knew Legolas could not openly disagree with him for the king would pull rank.
"But with the appearance of young master Aragorn, our hope at renewing the friendship between not only Mirkwood and Imladris but also between the races of men and the elves. I would like to therefore suggest that both Legolas, as crown prince of the Woodland Realm and Aragorn, as future chieftain of the Dunedin and ambassador of Rivendell go to Lake Town together to attend this council."
Aragorn's head snapped up to Thranduil's face but the elven king did not meet his gaze. He had not recovered enough to even think of travelling. His stomach ached in responds as if to remind him of the wound.
After two months in the safety of the palace he had recovered enough to start walking around but it had appeared that the gash had been deeper and the illness that he had suffered sapped more of his strength then he had at first assumed.
Legolas' hand on his arm tightened for a fraction before the prince pulled away. The council had started muttering softly among themselves and Legolas rose to his feet as he asked. "My lord, can I request a word in private with you?"
Thranduil rose and gave a nod, his eyes on the council before Legolas said. "Aragorn, would you care to join us?"
"Of course, I will." Aragorn rose to his feet but Legolas could see how the man gripped the armrest of his chair for a moment to long when he did. He glanced towards the king to see from the way the green eyes narrowed that Thranduil had seen it as well.
The king swept from the room, Legolas and Aragorn following. They walked to Thranduil's private study down the hall as the older elf held open the door for them. He closed it behind him, ignoring the clamber outside as the guards took their positions on either side of the door.
"Yes, Legolas, what is it?"
Aragorn sank down in a chair; even now standing up for a long time was making his head pound. He should have asked the healer if they had given him anything for poison that could have laced the blade but he assumed that they had not. It would explain some of his systems and why he was recovering so slowly.
The herbs he had been using on himself had improved him greatly but he was running low and had not dared to use them, afraid that he could not refill his stock. Perhaps he should see the healers about that as well if Thranduil was serious about sending him out on patrols.
"You may have noticed, my lord that this little trip is dangerous and may be nothing short of foolish." Legolas' tone of voice was hard as the blue eyes sparkled with determination.
"Foolish? Do tell me, prince?" Thranduil matched his son's voice tone for tone. Legolas' gaze hardened even more and answered.
"Aragorn is not recovered for a long trip abroad, especially one that will be as demanding as a trip to Lake Town. The journey to the part of the wood is very dangerous and Aragorn cannot hold a sword for long, let alone walk or ride for many hours a day."
"So you decline your order to go because of the fact that Aragorn is wounded?"
"It is the biggest factor, yes. I knew that you wanted to send me back out on patrol as soon as Aragorn is ready to join us but this trip, especially with Aragorn in this condition is dangerous and besides, do you not need lord Elrond's consent for sending an ambassador of Imladris to Lake Town?"
"It may take weeks to send a messenger and receive the message back, especially with the passes closed."
"Is the matter of Lake Town urgent because else I'm afraid that Aragorn cannot go with us."
"I did not know that Aragorn needed somebody to speak for him." Thranduil's voice was firm as he turned to regard Aragorn. "So tell me honestly, what is the matter with you?"
"It is not as dire as Legolas makes it sound, my lord but as you may have noticed, I have trouble rising to my feet quickly, my sense of balance is upset and I suffer from dizzy spells. I think that it may be a slow moving poison."
"Then should you not suffer more or have fever spells?"
"There are plenty of poisons that do not move swiftly and do not endanger a person's life." Aragorn looked up at the king.
"Very well, then what do you require to get well again?" Thranduil crossed his arms over his chest and glanced down at Aragorn.
"Several herb teas until the symptoms pass and the poison passed from my system. It will require a few weeks most likely." Aragorn sighed, he was wearier then he had anticipated being. Thranduil regarded him for a moment longer and then said.
"Very well then. You can travel to Lake Town then when you've recovered fully, Aragorn. I expect to see improvement within the next two months and you will be taken additional training with Legolas in dealing with the people from Lake Town." And as the king swept from the room, Aragorn got a feeling that he had been manipulated into this but it didn't really matter to him because a new adventure was looming on the horizon and it sounded to be a very exciting one at that.
I hope you liked it. I need some ideas for the next chapter. Review of course.