Valdarion escorted Prince Legolas through the Halls to see King Thranduil in his chambers, only to discover the King meeting them half way.
"Greetings, Father."
Thranduil offered a rare but sincerely warm smile to his son. "It is good to have you back safely. I was gravely concerned. I have assembled the War Council. We are eager to hear of what happened at the Lonely Mountain. Did you find Thorin Oakenshield?"
"I did - and I let him go."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"Father, they were in their own Kingdom, not ours. To raise a hand against a noble Dwarf in Old Erebor would have broken the peace, something you instructed me not to do."
"Keeping the peace between Dwarves is of less concern than keeping the peace with dragons, in case you did not realize the significant difference."
"Smaug has slept for the past sixty years. Wouldn't Dwarves have entered that Mountain already, if they could have?"
"Something has changed, at least in their minds. They see signs, but rather than take them as warnings, I fear that Dwarf greed makes them see opportunities."
"Well, nothing that elaborate is taking place now. I want you to hear you something." Legolas turned to Tauriel, who had lagged respectfully back in the hall, with Rhavaniel, "Come here, child.
Rhavaniel turned pale and stiff in front of King Thranduil. Tauriel gave a gentle nudge behind one knee and Rhavaniel dropped the appropriate curtsey.
"What did the young Dwarf tell you about this 'quest'?" Legolas asked her.
"He told me that they were traveling to the Iron Hills, to take work with their noble kinsman, Dain Ironfoot, for the winter. They were weary of working for Men, and thought to make a match between Lord Dain's daughter, Gila, and Fili, Prince Thorin's eldest nephew." she didn't offer that what Kili told her had turned out to be an elaborate lie. Technically, she had answered Legolas' question truthfully, but she thought King Thranduil's glacial blue eyes bored through her and knew she was being deceitful. She shook a bit, and Tauriel put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Respectfully, perhaps we should let the child eat and rest before we question her further." she said.
"I have heard all I need." Thranduil said with no hint of inflection in his voice. Still, Rhavaniel thought his eyes remained on her as Tauriel led her away.
"You did well." Tauriel assured her.
"Behold, another sign." Thranduil said, when Tauriel and Rhavaniel turned the corner.
Valdarion noticed, "I only just saw her myself, your Majesty. She is a Tatyar, certainly. Probably descended from the last refugees of Queen Amenolye's retinue. There don't appear to be any besides her, but I will investigate when more urgent matters are resolved."
"Investigate now." Thranduil commanded. "Tatyars. They were once the wellspring of our civilization."
"Now they are mixed race savages, hidden in caves. Even the Avari regard them as not much better than Dwarves." Legolas ruefully noted. "It is not a surprise, really, that one of Prince Thorin's nephew's did wish to keep her with them."
"Dwarves are as greedy as Men, wanting something that Iluvatar has put out of their reach for a reason." Thranduil mused, "Many times I offered the exiled Queen of the Tatyar my protection, both before and after her misguided marriage. She should have accepted. I doubt that she and her daughter are even properly buried. A shame, truly. And now this last Tatyar barely escaped an even worse alliance."
"She would be just one more missing Avari child, assumed to have gone seeking or been lost to spiders, had she not lived to tell her tale." Legolas said. "And a harrowing tale it is. I need to speak to the Guards who patrols beyond our gates, especially on the western and southern border, as soon as they return.
Valdarion turned to Legolas, surprised he did not know, "They are already here. We reduced our patrols throughout the borders of Mirkwood to bring more troops to the Citadel. We have also summoned the Chieftains of the Avari settlements to convene here immediately, rather than wait until the winter Gathering. We can no longer waive them from supplying troops to the Guard, if we are to properly meet this new threat from the Dwarves and the potential awakening of Smaug. They are expected to begin arriving tomorrow."
"You mean that the Avari, who have been warning for years that the outer reaches of the Kingdom have become unlivable, have been even less protected, and now will be told they are no longer allowed the luxury of protecting themselves?" Legolas retorted.
Valdarion did not respond. Schooling the Prince on his father's policy was not his place.
"I have come to report that we need to double our patrols and if that is not possible, then bring all of the Avari within our perimeters immediately for their own protection." Legolas stated. "Tauriel and I will explain that there are other threats to our Kingdom, unidentified or ignored for far too long, that outweigh your feud with Prince Thorin."
Thranduil remained cool, "I can assure you that there are no threats to our Kingdom that I am unaware of."
"We have shut off the Kingdom as if to protect ourselves from plague, but the plague was already here. Perhaps we are the source of the infection. Did that not occur to anyone, that the Great Darkening comes from within rather than outside our borders? " Legolas challenged.
"The Great Darkening is certainly an infection, but one put upon us by too liberal interactions with outsiders. I had put a stop to that. " Thranduil replied "And I succeeded until the Dwarves brought their enemies to our very doorsteps."
Legolas shook his head, "Our land becomes more poisonous every day. I have returned from Esgaroth and Erebor and I tell you, that land begins to bloom, even in the face of winter. Those Kingdoms will rise again, while ours falls, if the land itself be any judge."
Tauriel approached the trio with deference. "The War Council is assembled. They are eager to hear our report on the location of Prince Thorin's party, and the Orc activity. Will you be joining us, my King?"
"I shall not. My Councilors at least understand what my priorities are. They know where I stand, and I trust them to offer you their wisdom."
"Where has your young friend gone?" Valdarion asked Tauriel.
Tauriel looked back, and Rhavaniel was already out of sight.
"Pardon me." and she rushed off after the girl.
She found Rhavaniel had gone to explore the carillon in the next hall, and was tentatively tapping out a light melody on the giant instrument.
Tauriel reprimanded her, "Mind that you do not disturb anything. You have brought quite enough attention to yourself."
Rhavaniel remembered Thorin's harsh words. "I do not want attention! I want no one to so much as see me anymore."
Tauriel thought that her guardians hardly saw this child before, since no one even knew she was missing.
Tauriel was surprised to see that Valdarion had followed her. Rhavaniel instinctively ducked behind the carillon.
Valdarion smiled and gestured for Rhavaniel to come forward, "You play well."
Rhavaniel came out and made a quick curtsey and said. "Thank you." Turning to Tauriel she asked, "May I go now?"
"No, I need you to stay close in case other questions arise that only you can answer. I have asked the Palace Guards to bring you food, and fetch some boots that will fit you. Be patient and remain where you are."
Rhavaniel nodded.
Valdarion asked, "When you do speak to her guardians, would you make inquiries into her origin and report back to me?"
"Of course." Tauriel assured him.