Chapter XIX: Mirkwood (Pt. VIII)
âAfter a night spent deep in thought, I left my study and walked down the hall toward my chambers. Directly in my path stood Legolas speaking with Elenadar, Elenatar and TarthĂŽn.
âI hope to be able to join you on a hunt,â I heard him say enthusiastically.
âIf Ada allows you out of the front gate,â TarthĂŽn began, âI will take you up on your challenge.â
âWhat challenge is this, dare I ask?â
As soon as I spoke, the group quickly bowed.
âLegolas,â I asked? âWhat is your brother speaking about?"
âTarthĂŽn says he can kill more orcs than me, Father,â Legolas said smiling at me. âI disagree with him, of course.â
I gave him a sharp look. He had not even heard my decision and already he was full of anticipation for my answer to be permissive. I looked at both of them for a timeâglaring intensely the two young men that once clung to me tightly as children.
âYou realize, Legolas, that TarthĂŽn has more experience at fighting the real thing.â
I continued my way then stopped. I turned back and looked at my sons. Â Legolas looked down as he were ready to cry.
âIf I were you, I would spend today in practice and tonight in rest if you are to join him and the others on the hunt tomorrow.â
Legolas lifted his headâhis face had the largest smile I had ever seen. Perfect, as his motherâs. He nearly ran to me.
âThank you, Ada,â he said quietly. âI will not fail you.â
âI know. You never have.â
He bowed and returned to his friends as I continued down the hall, worried whether tomorrow I would still have an heir.
âYou will, Thranduil,â I heard a familiar voice said. âI would not worry about him.â
âEldĂŽr,â I said surprised. âYou startled me, Uncle.â
âMany apologies, Thranduil. Your mother and my wife have made it safely to Mithlond, but I thought it better to return. It was best for me not to go into the Undying Lands quite yet. Especially when I heard of the news of the unfortunate change of our identity from out of LothlĂłrien.â
âYes, it was unfortunate,â I said angrily. âWhatever reasons for it, you will never see me turn my back against the wind even if it were to blow from our own kin. I have a kingdom to rule whether by Eryn Galen or Mirkwood it is called.â
âYou are very much your fatherâs son,â he said. âOropher would be very proud.â
We walked together toward the great hall as I would begin a new day. Somehow, I began to feel our people were going to rise from this darkness we had known anew.
The following morning, I anxiously watched Legolas leave the palace to protect the kingdom with many other elven warriors.
âI know your fear, Thranduil,â FĂ«aluin said. âI feel the same every time I watch my sons leave. It is a feeling that will never go away.â
âThey are with Nimlos, ElmĂźr and Elranduil,â EldĂŽr said. âThey will return.â
As he turned, a beautiful two beautiful young elven maidens appeared by our side. One I knew well was NimlĂșinâdaughter of FĂnduin and SinomĂ«. She had had long brown hair and light brown eyes. The other was MĂźrĂĄre, daughter of TathĂĄron. Her long golden hair and eyes of silver were hard to avoidâespecially for Legolas. They both bowed to me gracefully.
âHas Aruilos left, Uncle,â NimlĂșin asked FĂ«aluin. âMĂźrĂĄre wished to see His Highness off.â
âI am afraid they left quite early,â I answered, looking at MĂźrĂĄre. âMĂźrĂĄre, daughter of TathĂĄron and TĂĄrwen. You are turning into quite a beautiful young lady.â
âThank you, Your Majesty,â she said smiling awkwardly. âHis Majesty is too kind.â
âOr truthful. Legolas shall return and call upon his return. He would be foolish not to do so. EldĂŽr. FĂ«aluin. Shall we?â
We started toward my study slowly. Fëaluin tried desperately not to laugh.
âI have been gone for far too long,â EldĂŽr said.
âYes, you have, EldĂŽr,â I said. âYes you have.â
âIt had only been a few hours since I had watched my son pass through the main gates of our palace and into the wild to battle the evil that roamed our kingdom. I paced the floor of my throne room waiting for word I had lost my son. When the gates burst open, I thought my worst fears had come true.
Elenadar and Elenatar entered carrying a wounded elven archer. As I was joined by EldĂŽr, Elranduil, FĂ«aluin, and AramĂr, we hurried to see about the elf. As they lay the elf on the floor, Nimlos, Elranduil, FindĂŽl and ElmĂźr entered and went to him. It was RandĂșmĂźr. Though I was grateful it was not Legolas, he was nowhere to be seen and I worried about the condition of my archer.
âWhere is Aramoth,â AramĂr yelled looking around. âI need him.â
âHe comes shortly with AldĂĄros,â FĂ«aluin said. âThey were at the northern borders with SildĂŽr. How is RandĂșmĂźr?"
âHe should be fine,â Elenatar said. âThe wound is shallow.â He pulled showed us a bleeding cut carved out of RandĂșmĂźrâs shoulder.
âTake him to NimlĂșin, now,â EldĂŽr commanded as more elven archers poured into the inner sanctum. Some were bloodied, but mobile. When I seemed all had returned, there still was not a sign of Legolas.
âI am going out there to find my son,â I said grabbing my sword.
âThranduil, stop,â Nimlos began, trying to stop me. âYou do not want to go out there.â
âI will go anywhere in this world for my son, Nimlos.â
Just as I said that, the gates opened and there was my son with his cousins ArdĂŽr, Aruilos, TarthĂŽn and OrĂsil.
âHow many did I get, TarthĂŽn,â I heard Legolas asking. He had a bit of dirt on his shirt, but otherwise he appeared fine.
âOh, one more than me,â TarthĂŽn said, sounding irritated. âTell the world, Legolas.â
âI think twenty was a good number for your first day,â Aruilos said. âBut you both have far to go to catch my thirty-four.â
âOr my forty-seven,â OrĂsil gloated. âThough ArdĂŽr did rather well.â
âStill far less than twenty,â ArdĂŽr said quietly. âFifteen."
âWhat is this,â I asked.
They stopped and bowed reverently.
âWhere have you been, Legolas? TarthĂŽn? You realize how worried I have been?â
âAda, it was my doing,â Legolas said. âI wanted to fight later than required. Do not blame them.â
âLegolas, come with me.â I stormed into my study, my son lock-step behind me.
Inside, there were scribes working as they had for centuries. By the look on my face, they knew to leave quickly, closing the doors behind them.
âI was worried about you, Legolas,â I began. âMy son out there in the wilds battling orcs and the like. And what do you do?â
âQuite well, I must say,â he said smiling. âI felled many of those horrible creatures. And many more I shall get tomorrow.â
âNo, you will not, Legolas. You will stay in the palace with me and learn your place.â
âI do not wish to do that, Ada,â he said. âI will not do that.â
âYou are too much like your mother,â I said.
I had not planned on those words to ever cross my lips.
âWhy must you do this to me?â
He looked at me with wonderment. A smile slowly crossed his face and his eyes began to light up. For a moment, he looked exactly like his mother.
âI am like my mother,â he asked. âHow am I like my mother, Ada? Please tell me.â
âYou seemed to have inherited her sense of torturing me with worry. She would say and do many things that frightened me. Whether this was her intention, I do not know, but you, son, have every intention of doing so.â
âI do not,â he said laughing. âThe only reason this has wrought fear in you is because you think I am going to die. That, I have no intention of doing.â
I sat down in my chair at my desk and looked at my son. Remembering when he would wander into my study and curl up on my lap to sleep. I felt my age for the first time. Legolas sat on the edge of my desk, still smiling.
âI may worry a bit much, Legolas,â I said. âBut as your father and as the king, I have the right.â
âWhat was my motherâs name,â he asked without diverting his gaze from me. âI want to know.â
âĂlĂșriel,â I said. Her name still brought a wave of emotion to my heart so powerful, I could feel the pain of nearly two-thousand years envelop me.
âHer name was ĂlĂșriel Nenluin from Ossiriand.â
âMy mother was danwaith? That would explain many things. Was she beautiful?â
âVery,â I said hoping he would stop asking about her. âHer beauty was beyond extraordinary.â
âI know you loved her, Ada,â he said looking down. âI have known it my whole life. Whenever you held me as a child, I could feel the love of both of you. It is how I could find my way to sleep, then. I wish sometimes to dream again, for I could see you smile again. With mother, you always seemed to smile.â
I began to shiver within thinking Legolas may have some memory he never spoke but kept to himself. I wanted to know more, but I reluctantly said nothing.
âI loved her more than life itself,â I answered. âShe meant more to me than even my throne. But the best part of her she left in my care. That is you, Legolas.â
âI am not the best part of her,â he said, rising. âI am the best part of both of you.â
I knew he was right, though I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing this. He began to leave. He paused for a moment.
âYes, Legolas,â I said.
âI will go out again tomorrow.â
âI hardly can keep you from having your way. Stubborn you are.â
âYes, I am. But that, I inherited from you. Or perhaps both of you. I am rather fond of this trait, Ada. I think I will keep it.â
âI am going with you,â I said. âIf I may?â
Legolas smiled gleefully.
âI would like that, Ada,â he said. âI hope you can keep up with us.â
âI have been killing these creatures long before you were born. I would not worry about me.â
He left quickly, nearly running into Fëaluin. He walked over to me with a serene look on his face.
âIs there something amiss, FĂ«aluin,â I asked. âWhat of RandĂșmĂźr?
âHe is fine. We lost no one. But TarthĂŽn wishes an audience.â
âTarthĂŽn,â he said. âYou may enter.â
Into the room came TarthĂŽn, his golden red hair somewhat a mess from the hunt. He bowed as I stood.
âYou may leave, FĂ«aluin,â I said. He took his leave quickly. When the doors were shut, I stood before the man I raised as my own son. âWhat bothers you, TarthĂŽn?â
âI am not your son, am I,â he asked.
âYou have been my son since your birth. Why do you ask?"
âI look nothing like you. I look nothing like Legolas. Who am I?â
âWhere is this coming from, TarthĂŽn,â I asked.
âI am different, Ada. I know this. But you worry more for Legolas than me."
âI know your skills are greater,â I said. âBut do not doubt my love for you. I worry for you every time you leave this palace.â
âWho am I,â he asked again.
"You are TarthĂŽn, son of Melros, son EldĂ»mĂr. Both died in the War of the Last Alliance. Your mother, Arandil and your grandmother AralĂłmĂ« left you in my care for the Undying Lands. Your father was like a brother to me since childhood. I promised to care for you as my own if he were to die and that he did. Honorably. You are his son but you are also my son.â
âI apologize for endangering your son,â he said. âI would never do anything to harm him.â
âDo you wish to leave your family? Legolas knows no other but you as his brother. Have I said something wrong?â
âNo,â TarthĂŽn said. âYou have loved me well and there is no better brother I could ask for than Legolas. I just wanted to know. I see one that looks like me in memories that should not be and he is always in the armor of a warrior.â
âThat is Melros. I was there when he fell,â I said sadly.
I did not want to look at his son.
âHe always says to me that I am where I should be,â he said. âHe says he is very proud.â
âAs he should. You have grown very well. You are a good son.â
âHe is proud of you,â TarthĂŽn said as he approached me. âI know you love me, Ada. I lost one in battle before my birth and gained another when I was born. I wish my father had lived, but it was not a choice I was given. But kept your promise to raise me as your son and I am glad you are my father.â
He embraced me and I returned it to him. I felt tears come to me. Memory seemed to bring Melros back to me. I had held so much guilt for his death, I found it hard to hold his son. Much like Legolas whom I kept at arms length for the guilt of losing his mother, I had not noticed I was pushing them away over agonizing pain.
When he released me he smiled coyly.
âYou know I have shown interest in ĂariĂąth, Ada. I ask for your blessing, if I may.â
âThat, I give willingly for the affairs of the heart are what they are,â I said. âHowever, have you spoken to Nimlos of your intention?â
âNot entirely,â he said. âI was hoping you would give him reason.â
âYou know, TarthĂŽn,â I began. âI remember many mornings when my solitude was disturbed by two little elves. Asking me to do something. I thought that would end by now.â
âIt has,â he said. âFor it is night.â
âFine, TarthĂŽn,â I will speak with Nimlos. But should he give his blessing, you will be given the royal tradition upon the announcement.â
âIs that frightening,â he asked, his eyes growing larger. I remembered my own experience and smiled at him.
âOh, yes. Yes, it is, son. You may go. I believe the others await your company.â
He bowed and ran out of my study. I went to my balcony and watched the falls and noticed the moon shining down for the first time in a long time, turning the waters into a glowing fall of diamonds falling into the meandering stream below. The day had ended calmer than it had begun. I found myself happier than I had been for centuries.â--Excerpt from TKWR:BII The Saga of Thranduil by J.M.Miller 6-24-16
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