ᴹᴬᴸᵀᴴᴱᴺ ᴱᴿᴺᴵᴸ

erniil shhh the trees are WHISPERING to me and they tell me you’re a DORK

                            ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

   “A favor was owed unto me by him, mellon nin, and you can very much assure I took full advantage of the circumstance. Fear not- I most certainly kept you in mind upon making my request, as well.” 

   The smile that blossomed upon the flame-haired elf’s features was one that displayed complete and utter deviance, as she soon opened her mouth to speak once again. 

   “He was certainly not happy- yet did not refuse my request. It looks as though we’ve an entire store of wine at our disposal. What ever shall we do with it?”

                                  ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

                                                      “He owed you that?” 

               Brows furrowed, irritation was written upon his features  &  Legolas                could barely believe that this was actually true. But then again, why                should  Tauriel  lie?   What  the reason for said favor was,  well, he                didn’t question this further  &  a  shake  of  his head in combination                with a chuckle followed at his friend’s question instead. 

He allowed the elfling to hold his hand – or fingers, as her hands weren’t big enough yet – before looking at his son. It was an offer that he could hardly refuse, especially if it came from his son and granddaughter. But he noticed the family was one member short, and he frowned a little, looking over Legolas’ shoulder as if expecting to see Tauriel walk around the corner. When she didn’t appear, he guessed that she was still in bed. Probably tired from chasing the child around the halls; he had the railings installed on all of the bridges to keep her from falling off. It had been a while since those were needed. 

               “I would be delighted.”

Maybe it would be too much to ask for his guards to keep any reports until after they had finished their tea. An hour of silence could do wonders to anyone, including him. But Thranduil started making the most of his time with the two, first by falling behind his son and secretly making faces for Anoria’s entertainment. It was only when they neared the dining hall that he stopped and sat at the head of the table. The usual food was brought, along with tea and melted chocolate spread. 

                  “Will you deny your child chocolate, Legolas? Or                    must I exert my right as king and overrule your                    judgment?”

Even now, he was spoiling the girl, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. He did make sure to set ground rules that Anoria could understand, like no hair pulling. But most of the time, he let her do what she wanted. Within reason. 

                                   ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

    That Legolas has become a lot more mature & more accepting regarding his father’s     demeanor,  the  reason  behind  how  distanced  he’d  once  become,  showed just as     much  with  his advice for Thranduil to grant himself a few moments  of  relaxation &     peace.   Legolas  didn’t only bear the responsibility as a father now,   but tied himself     closer to his own ----- basically  because he’d just realized how much Thranduil had     always sacrificed for him  &  Tauriel. It was about time to give something back. Ano-     ria, thusly, was not only the new sunshine in the midst of the royal family, but as well     a lesson in some way. 

    Never had the relationship between Legolas &  his father been that close, at least not     from what he recalled; and he enjoyed  it.  Especially  since  his  little  jewel  lured  a     smile from her grandfather’s lips without effort,  something  that  visibly did him good. 

    With Anoria still in his arms, Legolas followed his father into the dining hall, sat down     next to him with his daughter settled down onto his lap.  Chocolate.  Well,  she was at     least old enough to taste some of it  & side-eyeing Thranduil briefly, the prince chuck-     led in response. 

                                     “You do not even leave me the choice                                       for denial, Adar. But a small bite is fine.” 

    Of course did the small elfling approve of granddaddy’s idea  &  happily giggling, the     young redhead stretched her hands out to him;  obviously expecting Thranduil to feed     her with the sweets while her father just held her in place to keep her from falling. But     his gaze also sways toward the king, turning into a thoughtful glance which came in     combination with a fleeting smile. 

Quiet mornings were rare in Mirkwood; there was always something going on. Whether it was an elfling running around the halls or the tutors guiding the young Elves into the finer points of swordsmanship and archery, there was a new sound to keep things from getting too quiet. And with Legolas and Tauriel’s daughter as the newest addition to the royal family, things were even more noisy. 

It was why he cherished those brief moments to himself; the times when he was just ‘Thranduil’ and not a king, a father, or a grandfather. But those were three roles that he fulfilled willingly and gave him a sense of PURPOSE. Like the other Elves in Mirkwood, he had thought that Legolas would never marry or even have a child of his own. 

Of course, Tauriel had been the last person he thought his son would fall for. Thranduil was initially worried that his son would go through the same things he did by losing his wife, but so far they were happy. And that was ENOUGH.

             “Ion.”

He had been on his way to the throne room when he heard his son and granddaughter, but he stopped to wait for the pair. As much as he wanted to hold the toddler, he bent down a little to tickle her under her chin.

                   “And who is this? Surely not our little Anoria?”

                                   ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

        This was more than true, always life & mostly even trouble everywhere, hurry         among the people all across the open corridors each morning.  One more rea-         son for Legolas to carry his daugther along peacefully,  as  fortunately,  it  was         one of those quieter mornings.  Anoria was still sensitive to noise & whilst ge-         nerally as curious as her parents,  could not yet stand too much action around         her. 

        Coming to a halt right in  front  of  Thranduil,  the prince kept his smile alive, if         mainly because of how excited his daughter reacted to her grandfather’s atten-         tion.  Happily  squealing  &  with her tiny hands trying to grab the king’s much         bigger, slender hand, one could see the sparkle in her bright eyes ----  it most         certainly was the calmness Thranduil radiated & his deep voice. Legolas had         been  in  love  with  this voice as well when he’d been a small toddler, remem-         bered too well how he’d fallen asleep against his father’s chest when  he  hum-         med quietly or spoke calming words. 

                          “Would you have a few moments to enjoy a cup of tea                            with me?  Though that  I  caught you on the path to the                            throne hall has me assuming that you are busy. You                            should grant yourself some time to breathe too, Adar.” 

She nodded in agreement at his request not to travel Mirkwood alone (or was it a command? He was a Prince, after all).  “I won’t,” she assured him.  

Sigrid had heard of the Spiders, of course, and that the woods were dangerous, dark, and deep.  Often, when she was a child, before her mother’s death, she had asked her father if she could go with him when he went up the river into Mirkwood on his barge.  He’d allowed her to come sometimes, but only occasionally, and only when she promised that she would not stray into the trees, and that she would not leave his sight, under any circumstances.  

“I am sorry that such things happened to your home,” she added then, knowing better than most how it was to have one’s home be invaded by something evil.

                                   ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

          Nay,  it was not actually a command but an advice from friend to friend  &           just  pronounced  with  determination  which  might  add  a subliminal hint           toward a command.   He  was  prince  but  had no  official position among           mortals. 

          Legolas  appreciated  Sigrid’s  empathy,  offered a brief smile in return  &             yet all in all he remained serious on that subject, would not make it sound           harmless  as  Sigrid was meanwhile old enough to understand the truth &           use such to keep her siblings safe as well. 

    The man still wasn’t sure what to say or do. He was scared he was going to do something wrong or do something to push his son away for another so many years. Something he didn’t want in all honesty. He loved having him around, even if it has been only five minutes of them being face to face again    When he did speak, he smiled faintly and nod- ded. “ Right, of course. Forgive me. We work every day, the last thing we want to do on a day off is talk about it."Though for Thranduil, it wasn't really a day off but he only worked later.                                                         Thankfully.     Only another nod was given as he taken another small bite of his food and a sip of coffee. Though it was the next question and words that came out of his son's mouth that made his eyes slightly widened and his body freeze slightly. It was rare that he was asked about his wife but he often thought about it. Hell, he kept her picture in his wallet still. Of course the picture behind it, and often changed, to her and their baby. The baby boy that no longer was a baby but sat in front of him and was all grown up.    Swallowing the lump in his throat, he put his cup down and cleared his throat, shifted in his seat then. "I do think of her often. ” He admitted with a  faint nod but his eyes did not look up at Lucas for the moment but off to the side. It was practically his fault she did. If only he had been there and keep his promise to keep her safe. Then maybe she would still be there and they could be the happy family they once were so many years ago.

              “ I think of her a lot more than I admit. It is...         strange to hear and speak about it out loud if         I may be honest. ” His voice was soft for that         moment before finally looking at Lucas.                       " Do you think of her?"

                                    ☙┈┈⊰♕⊱┈┈❧

      Lucas was moving on thin ice by mentioning his mother, at least did he think so,       but it burned on his  soul  &  she still was present ever since she had been torn       out of life. In his heart.   Everything he did, the rights & wrongs,  the path he had       chosen to go in his life; all for his mother, to avenge her.  Hence it should not be       a surprise that, now faced with his long missed father, he would speak of her----       sooner or later. 

      They  had  been a happy family,  Lucas knew that if his father still thought of her,       there wouldn't be negative thoughts.   But everyone handled grief differently,  so       he was curious,   more  than that,   if Thranduil had tried to forget or allowed me-       mories to stay within him. 

      His  features  froze  for  a  moment,  entirely  focused on his father's whole body       language  to catch every sign coming along with his response ----  &  it  was  a       sincere yet sad smile which softened his expression then, a relief it was to hear       that Thranduil still thought of her.  Lucas  nodded  once, resisting the temptation       to take his father's hand & felt the pace of his heartbeat increase at the returned       question. 

                    "All the time, dad. I think of her every morning, as soon as I                      open my eyes.  I  miss  her  during  the  days  &  until I fall                      asleep in the evenings. Her smile----  she  was  a sunshine                 & I won't ever forget her beauty. But I missed you too, am                      more than glad to see you are doing fine."

      Thoughtfully glancing down at his cup,  Lucas  inhaled  deeply,  forcing  himself       not to get too emotional & had to change the topic if he wanted not to shed a tear.