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Chapter 5 - Facing the Consequences

Thranduil paced restlessly, sweeping by the great front doors time and time again as the two Palace Guards did their best to maintain their impassivity in their liege's current unsettled presence. Each knew better than to attract Thranduil's attention in any way when the King was in such a state of consternation. There were few in the Woodland Realm who could so agitate the Elven King, and Thranduil's last born was certainly prominent among those select few.

Thranduil stopped, as he had done so countless times before, and trained his eyes on the path that led from the outer gates to the expansive courtyard. The message that Legolas was safe and in the presence of his eldest had arrived more than two hours ago and Thranduil had been pacing for a better of part of the past hour, waiting anxiously for the return of his two sons. The warrior who had delivered the message had more than once assured the King that his youngest was safe and whole, and Thranduil had no reason to disbelieve him. Nevertheless, paternal instincts unequivocally demanded that he cradle the elfling once more in his very arms before all fears and uncertainties could be fully banished. Even as he longed to enfold his arms around his youngest, anger was slowly brewing within for the breathless fear that Legolas had subjected him to for the better part of this day.

Casting another stormy look at the path that refused to yield up those he awaited, Thranduil resumed his pacing, not caring that he was, at the moment, cutting a less than regal figure by such behaviour. As the minutes dragged by with agonizing slowness, his ire mounted in a manner that greatly outmatched the pace of time. Legolas would be properly punished this time, he vowed angrily to himself. The seriousness of his offence could not be ignored. He shall impress upon this child what an exacting and strict father he could be.

The sound of approaching hooves brought Thranduil's agitated pacing to an immediate halt. With narrowed eyes, he watched as the riders drew near, searching instinctively for and finding the familiar golden head. His breath stopped and his heart pounded furiously as he caught sight of the small figure cradled in the arms of his oldest. Anger evaporated and fear quickly filled the void as Thranduil flew down the steps toward his sons.

"Is he injured?" he demanded even before the horses had come to a complete stop.

"He is asleep, Adar," Aldeon said quickly. Seeing the unspoken command in his father's eyes, he handed the slumbering elfling into the other's anxious arms.

Sleepy blue eyes shifted slowly into semi-focus as Thranduil held his youngest close. A drowsy smile of recognition followed and small arms encircled the King's neck with a whisper of 'Ada'. The elfling let out a contented sigh and drifted back into reverie, secure in the feeling that he could be in no safer place.

"He is exhausted, Adar," Aldeon spoke quietly at his side. "The day's adventure was too much even for his stamina."

Thranduil found himself forcing back a very undignified grunt. "Adventure, indeed! Let us see how much stamina he has when he faces the punishment I have in store for him." The vehemence of his words was greatly curtailed by the tender kiss that was bestowed on the peaceful brows of the sleeping elfling.

Aldeon suppressed a smile. "Perhaps you may wish to postpone the punishment until the healer has had a chance to check over the gash on his leg, as well as the very colourful bruise that he is currently sporting on his back."

Thranduil's head snapped up at the newly delivered information, as his eyes took in for the first time the bandage that encircled the elfling's thigh. "He is injured then? How did it happen?"

"I do not believe the injuries to be serious, but you may wish to have that confirmed by Kala. As to how Legolas sustained those hurts, it might be best that he tells you the tale himself," Aldeon explained.

"Aye, let the elfling tell you himself. It will provide a most delightful tale," another voice chimed in.

"Salque!" Thranduil cried in joyous surprise. "My dear friend! You have returned!"

"Yes, I have returned, but our reunion must wait. First, you have an elfling to put to bed," Salque smiled. "Be assured that I shall be calling on you tomorrow, my lord, and to share with you a cup or two of your most famous vintage."

"I look forward to it, my friend," Thranduil smiled. "And you are right, this elfling must be my priority tonight. My real dilemma is whether I should smother him in hugs or throttle him just as happily."

Salque raised one expressive brow. "Shall I tell you, my lord? You would sooner throttle yourself than to hurt one hair on that elfling's head."

Thranduil smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid you are right. Aldeon, would you --"

His eldest preempted him with a touch to the shoulder. "I shall send for Kala to attend Legolas in his chambers."

"Thank you, Aldeon," Thranduil smiled gratefully.

"Until tomorrow then, my lord," Salque bowed and retreated.

Left to himself for the moment, Thranduil looked down at his child's peaceful visage. "Ai, Legolas, my heart, what am I to do with you?"

Clutching the elfling rather desperately to his chest, the King made his way down the hall to his child's chambers.

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Thranduil paused before the closed door as he listened to the sound of Legolas' infectious laughter, muffled in part by the thick wood. Despite the unhappy task before him, the King found his own lips curling at the joyous sound. Drawing in a deep breath to strengthen his resolve, Thranduil pushed open the door.

"Ada!" Legolas greeted him happily.

The other elf rose to his feet with a ready smile and bowed. "My lord."

Thranduil studied the other elf with a raised brow. "Should I be slighted that you should choose to call upon an elfling before you pay your homage to your king?"

Salque laughed. "No slight is intended, my lord. I merely wanted to assure myself of the wellbeing of the little prince before I call upon you for our promised reunion."

"Salque has been telling me wonderful tales, Ada," Legolas piped up. "I want to hear more."

"No doubt you do, but you and I need to have a talk," Thranduil said dryly. "And I am sure Salque will excuse us while we do so."

The smile immediately fell from Legolas' face. He had been foolish to hope that his ada had forgotten about his transgressions. "Yes, Ada."

Salque gave the elfling a sympathetic look. "I shall come back to visit you later, little one, if your ada would so allow."

Legolas nodded with an air of resignation. He doubted very much his ada would allow him to see anybody until the next turn of the moon.

Once they were alone, Thranduil sat himself into the chair that the other elf had so recently vacated. "Now, Legolas, what do you have to say?"

"I am sorry, Ada. I know what I did was wrong," Legolas said, peering at his father with anxious eyes.

Thranduil frowned. "If you know what you were doing was wrong, then why did you do it?"

"I wanted to see a spider so badly," Legolas said in a very small voice.

"Do you have any idea how deadly spiders are, Legolas? They have preyed upon our people time and time again. Well-seasoned warriors have perished under their attacks. What do you think those dark creatures will do to a lone, unarmed elfling like you?"

"I was only going to take a look. I would not have stayed long enough for them to harm me," Legolas countered.

"By you the time you set your sight upon a spider, the choice will not be yours whether you wish to stay or not. The spider will be upon you before you can draw your next breath, "Thranduil said dryly.

The elfling's eyes grew huge.

Thranduil felt a certain amount of satisfaction to see the fear on his son's face. Perhaps the elfling would learn his lesson after all, but there was more that he needed to impress upon his youngest. "What you did yesterday was beyond foolishness, Legolas. Not only did you expose yourself recklessly to danger and possible death, but your thoughtless act also forced me to send forth guards to search for you, guards whose duty is to protect the lives of our people. What would have happened if there was a threat to our people and there were insufficient guards to deal with that threat, because they were out searching for an elfling who had decided on a whim to seek out spiders? By doing what you did yesterday, you courted danger not only for yourself, Legolas, but also for others whose lives that we, as King and Prince of this realm, have a responsibility to protect. You have disappointed me, Legolas. I had thought that you held a greater sense of duty and responsibility to our people."

The sense of shame was overwhelming and tears spilled readily. "I am so sorry, Ada. I never meant to harm our people in any way. I did not think what I did would put others in danger or else I would have never done it. I am so very sorry, Ada. Please do not be disappointed in me. Please."

Seeing the tearful and repentant face before him, Thranduil ached to enfold the elfling into a comforting embrace, but he needed to be certain that Legolas truly understood the recklessness of his actions. "Being the son of a king, every action that you take has consequences that will affect all those around you. This is a responsibility that you can never forget. Trust and loyalty from our people are not what is by right owed to us. It is something that we must earn from them, through our actions and words. We therefore must never act or speak without thought or consideration of the consequences on others. Do you understand, Legolas?"

The elfling nodded vigorously, showering tear droplets generously upon the coverlet of his bed. "I must think of others before I do or say anything."

Thranduil nodded. "Do you think you can remember that the next time you are tempted to do something reckless and foolish?"

"I will try, Ada. I will try very hard," Legolas said with all earnestness.

"Come here, then, my heart." Thranduil reached out and pulled the elfling into his arms. Legolas sank eagerly into the much-needed hug, rubbing his tear stained face on his ada's robes. The fear that his ada would withdraw hugs, as a punishment, had been very real.

Thranduil smoothed his hand gently over fine golden hair of his youngest, and relished in the warmth of the small body cuddled in his arms, like a soothing balm to a troubled soul. For long moments, father and son enjoyed the quiet tranquility that each brought to the other.

At length, it was Thranduil who broke the silence. "You know I still have to punish you, Legolas."

The small golden head gave a reluctant nod. "I know, Ada."

"What do you think would be a suitable punishment?"

"I do not know, Ada," Legolas admitted truthfully as his fingers folded and refolded endlessly the rich cloth of his father's robes.

Thranduil thought for a moment. "Since you are so eager to enhance your knowledge of spiders, then you shall compose an essay for me, of all that you can learn of those creatures from the books in the library. That is in addition to the regular hours that you spend under Calanon's tutorage."

Legolas could not help but groan out loud. "But I already spend much of my day in the library with Calanon. I will not have any free time. I will have no time to practice archery."

Thranduil nodded. "That is correct. And when you have finished the essay on spiders, you can then do one on wargs and another one on dwarves so that you will never again confuse the two creatures again."

"But that will take forever! I will be spending all my waking hours in the library!"

Thranduil nodded again. "That is my intention. The more that you are engaged in beneficial ways, the less time you will have to dream up new mischief. The hours that you do not spend in the library, you will spend in your room. That will give you ample opportunity to reflect upon what transpired yesterday."

Legolas sighed in resignation. "Yes, Ada."

Thranduil's arms tightened around the elfling. "It gives me no pleasure to punish you, Legolas, but it is important that you learn from your mistakes. Perhaps next time you will not be so eager to give in to your whims."

There was a lengthy pause before Legolas asked cautiously, "Are you still disappointed in me, Ada?"

A voice shouted an astounding 'no' within Thranduil's heart, but he knew he could not give sound to it, not yet. "I am disappointed, though not nearly as much as I felt yesterday, as I can see that you are sorry for what you have done."

"Oh, I am sorry, truly sorry, Ada!" Legolas was quick to voice his affirmation.

Thranduil's hand found its way to the elfling's hair again and he caressed the silken floss with gentle strokes. "I believe my disappointment is lessening even as we speak. Perhaps it will be gone by the morrow."

Small arms encircled Thranduil's waist fiercely as his youngest buried his face into the thick pile of the King's robes. "I hope it will be gone by tomorrow, Ada. I will try not to disappoint you again, I promise."

Thranduil bent and kissed the half-burrowed head. "I am glad to hear that, my heart."

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"Legolas has been confined to the library and his room for the much of this month," Aldeon said, as he took a slow sip of wine from his cup.

Father and son had spent the hours since their evening meal in the King's library, discussing various issues that had been the subject matter of the morning session with Thranduil's advisors. Having felt that sufficient time had been expended on the affairs relating to the realm, Aldeon decided it was time to turn to the concern that had been plaguing his heart for the past days.

Thranduil took a drink from his own cup. "He is being punished."

"I know, Adar, but do you not think the punishment has gone on for long enough? It has not been easy on him to be kept indoors for such a length of time. He misses his archery lessons fiercely."
"Has he made complaints to you?" Thranduil asked.

"No, but I can see that the confinement is wearing on him, nonetheless," Aldeon said quickly.

The King eyed the other elf rather wryly. "No doubt you can. If it were up to you, Legolas would never again be punished in any way. You are far too indulgent when it comes to your young brother, Aldeon."

His eldest smiled sheepishly. "I am his oldest brother. It is my right to indulge him in whatever ways that I can. I leave it to you, as his father, to carry out the elements of discipline in his life."

Thranduil's lips curled. "Aye, a balance of responsibilities. You dote, whereas I scold."

Aldeon smiled again and wisely made no response to his father's observation.

"Part of Legolas' punishment was that he should spend some time in his room, alone, to contemplate on his erroneous ways. But it would seem that he has spent very little time alone, not with you and Salque rotating shifts to keep him amused during those times of contemplation," Thranduil said mildly.

"Nothing escapes your attention, Adar," Aldeon laughed. "Surely, you did not expect me to abandon Legolas in his hour of need."

Thranduil laughed and shook his head. "With you hovering about Legolas, any punishment that I deal out to him would be for naught. And now you seem to have found an accomplice in Salque."

"Perhaps next time you should banish Legolas to the dungeons and set a guard upon him to ensure that he receives no visitors," Aldeon said, smiling widely.

"Perhaps I shall," Thranduil nodded. "If only to have my eldest rise up in arms against me for the harsh treatment of his youngest brother."

Aldeon chuckled out loud at this last statement. "And Salque will be right along my side. It would seem that your old friend has become very fond of Legolas."

"Yes, strangely enough, and Legolas seems to be equally taken with him." Thranduil's fingers tapped thoughtfully at his cup. "Perhaps we can take advantage of this mutual attraction between the two."

Aldeon dipped his head slightly. "I too have been thinking of the same thing. Perhaps Salque can be persuaded to take on a new role in your service."

Thranduil smiled slowly. "Perhaps if we bide our time, he will need no persuasion at all."

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When Salque received the summons to attend upon the King, he had been in the constant company of the youngest prince for nearly two months. Nary a day went by without some time being shared between the elfling and the seasoned warrior. Once Legolas had completed the term of his punishment, it had become a common sight to see the two wandering about companionably, like shadows of one another, both inside and outside of the King's halls.

As Salque knocked on the finely carved door that led to Thranduil's private study, he could not help but feel a pang of apprehension as to the reason for this summons. It was likely that his King had for him a task to fulfill. He hoped that the assignment was not to take him far from the stronghold or that it required an extended absence. He had grown very fond of Legolas in the short time that they had know each other and it would sadden him to have to bid the elfling farewell so soon.

'My lord." He greeted his liege with a bow upon entering the room.

"Be at ease, my old friend. I am glad that you are able to find the time to attend me. I know your days have been much occupied." Thranduil handed his friend a goblet of wine.

Salque laughed. "Both you and I know how I have occupied my days since my return. I cannot say that I am sorry as to how my time has been spent."

Thranduil smiled, "You seem to have grown very fond of Legolas. I am glad, for both of your sakes."

"He is a delightful child. It has been long since I have come face to face with such engaging innocence as that which envelopes your son. It is akin to a breath of fresh air in the midst of darkness and shadows. You are truly blessed with this son, as you are with all your other sons. I must confess to an inkling of envy."

Thranduil laughed. "Envy me not. You have a daughter and I have not one. Let us say that we are both blessed in our own ways."

Salque nodded, smiling in concurrence. "We are both blessed then. That much we can agree on. However, you did not summon me today to discuss the joys of fatherhood. How may I serve you, my lord?"

Thranduil set down his cup carefully. "Aye, I do have a proposition for you, one that I hope you will accept."

"You are my king. You have but to command and I will follow," Salque affirmed.

Thranduil smiled. "Your words have just lifted a great burden from my shoulders. And now let me explain to you what you have accepted."

THE END.

A/N: Well, this is the end to another tale. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading and a special thanks to those who took the time to leave me their valuable comments. They are greatly appreciated.