Healing Hope

Chapter Seventy

Within the Heart

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.” Helen Keller

“Rest Elrohir,” soothed Erestor. “For a few hours let your mind be at peace.”

“I cannot.” Elrohir took a shuddering breath. “I should see to the troop. We leave at dawn.”

“Dawn?” protested Erestor. He noted the paleness of the twin’s complexion with alarm. “You are in no condition to go anywhere, but especially not to undertake a difficult journey.”

Elrohir snorted ruefully. “I fear we have no choice.”

Erestor’s eyes narrowed. He was deeply concerned over Elrohir’s condition and what might have happened after he left the King’s presence with Estel. Now he was almost afraid to ask.

A soft knock at the door interrupted the conversation.

Elrohir sighed. “Whoever it is, please ask them to go away.” The twin had never felt this tired in his life. He simply did not have the strength to undergo another confrontation. His mind felt muddled, and he knew it was going to take everything he had just to be able to get on a horse.

“I will see to it,” said Erestor. Rising from the bed, the Seneschal smoothed his robes into perfect order. He was a representative of his Lord, after all, and even in these trying circumstances he was acutely aware of the fact. He opened the door to find the Prince of Mirkwood. Erestor quickly slipped outside, closing the door behind him before the young elf could see into the room.

“Erestor, I would like to see Elrohir,” said Legolas.

The Seneschal hesitated long enough to arouse the Prince’s suspicions even more. “I am not sure that is a good idea, Your Highness.”

“Did he tell you what happened?” When no answer was forthcoming, Legolas sighed. “Erestor, I know something is wrong for Elrohir to have been so rude to Adar.”

Erestor blanched. It seemed his worst fears were coming true. “Just how rude are we talking about here?”

Legolas met his gaze. “Accusations of carelessness - and worse - against my father and grandfather were just the beginning. It ended with, ‘never trust a Wood-elf.’ Adar has commanded that you leave by dawn, and Elrohir is never to return.”

“Oh my,” sighed the Seneschal, sagging slightly against the doorframe. “I am grieved to hear this.” Erestor closed his eyes. “Prince Legolas, I am not sure that Elrohir will be capable of riding in so few hours.”

Legolas’ caught his breath. “What has happened?” He took Erestor’s hands, squeezing them slightly for emphasis. “Erestor, please…I care for Elrohir as well.” The hollow look on the Seneschal’s face confirmed his fears.

“Elrohir is suffering from the severing of his twin bond with Elladan,” Erestor whispered hoarsely. “Before the audience with the King, I found him nearly unconscious on the floor.”

“Elladan?” Legolas breathed, stricken by the news.

“We know nothing for certain, young Prince,” Erestor cautioned, “but Elrohir is clearly not himself.” He paused, searching for words. “Perhaps if I approach the King…”

Legolas shook his head slowly. “No, not just yet… Let me try first.”

“I must ask you to keep this knowledge to yourself, Legolas, for we do not want Estel to know aught is amiss.”

“Estel is quite observant,” Legolas reasoned. “If Elrohir is this bad, the child is bound to notice.”

“So far the twin has been able to mask his heartbreak.”

“I cannot believe this is happening…” groaned Legolas. He placed his hand on Erestor’s shoulder. “See to Elrohir. I will approach my Adar.”

O-o-O-o-O

Elrohir tried closing his eyes, but it only highlighted the void he saw and felt. The blackness threatened to overwhelm him once more, but he forced his mind onto Estel. He breathed deeply, filling his nostrils with the soft scent of his baby brother. With his finger he gently traced the bruises along the child’s cheek. The black eye was still swollen and sore looking. ‘Who would do such a thing to an innocent?’ The words of the guard drifted into his memory. ‘They should all be killed.'

Elrohir felt his anger rising…warring with his reason. He had seen and heard how Estel talked about the King, and there was no way the twin would ever believe Legolas could harm him. Obviously Estel was not afraid, yet the bruises remained as a stark reminder that the child had been sorely misused. Elrohir felt himself gritting his teeth. If he ever found the one responsible, he would make him pay dearly.

“Ro?”

Elrohir managed to put the thoughts of revenge from his mind and smile down at the sleepy grey eyes looking up at him. “Why are you awake, little one?”

Estel yawned so big that Elrohir could see the back of his throat. “I do not know…my eyes just opened.”

“Well, perhaps they will just close,” teased Elrohir, “for it is far too early for you to be waking.”

“Why are you?” asked the boy.

“I am watching over you while you sleep,” answered the twin honestly. “Who hurt you, little love?” he croaked, using Elladan’s pet name for Estel, and was immediately angry with himself for bringing up the subject.

Estel looked puzzled. What happened was still fuzzy in his mind. “I am not sure, but Lariel said she was sorry.”

Elrohir was confused by Estel’s answer. How could he not know who harmed him so grievously? A new worry entered the twin’s mind. Had Estel sustained an injury to his brain that caused him to forget? “Lariel?”

Estel nodded, a frown creasing his brow as he remembered her words about humans. What if Elrohir found out he was human? What if Ada… Fear stabbed the child’s heart.

Elrohir watched the play of emotions on the boy’s face and was angered anew at the alarm he saw there. “What is it, child?”

Estel blinked back the tears that threatened to swamp his eyes and sniffed. “I want to go home. I want Ada.” His voice ended in a small wail.

Misunderstanding Estel’s worries, Elrohir pulled him close, soothing him. “I will let no one else harm you. Soon we will be home, and Ada will be singing you to sleep.”

O-o-O-o-O

“Adar, may I enter?”

Thranduil looked up from the scroll he was studying. He leaned back in his chair and rolled the parchment. “Certainly, Lasgalen…when have we ever denied you?”

Legolas’ mouth felt dry, and he struggled to swallow. He had been practicing what to say for several minutes. He pulled a chair closer to where his father sat and leaned his elbows against the desk. He closed his eyes taking in the sounds and scents of his father’s study...the leather books, the soft scent of the parchment, the oil used to polish his desk, and even the smell of the pitch torches. So complete was the sensation that everything he wanted to say was washed away in a flood of memories. “When I was young I loved to play with my toy soldiers on the floor underneath your desk while you worked.”

Thranduil smiled at the memory. “More than once you tired yourself so sufficiently that you had to crawl up into my lap to sleep while I finished my manuscript.”

Legolas smiled too. “Sometimes I only pretended to sleep so that I could just watch you.”

Thranduil sighed. “It was not easy on you being raised by busy a King that had to act as both father and mother. I did not have the time to spend with you that you needed and deserved.”

“Do not ever think that, Adar,” Legolas answered fervently. “Most of my friends only had one naneth, while I had two...you and Nárë. No elfling ever felt more loved.”

Thranduil’s heart warmed as he gazed at his son. How like his mother he looked. At times it was enough to steal the King’s breath. Thranduil forced his mind from that path. “What have you come to ask me, Greenleaf?”

Legolas colored slightly. “Am I that transparent, Adar?”

Thranduil chuckled, “Only to me, child.” The King grew serious, for he knew where Legolas’ thoughts were headed. He shook his head sadly. “I will not change my pronouncement.”

Legolas’ shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“Legolas, as a father there is nothing I would deny you, but as a King I am held to a higher standard. The insults hurled in this room were aimed not only at me, but at our people. That I cannot countenance. Had the conversation been held in private, I might reconsider, for you, but it was not. Even now the tale is being carried throughout the palace.”

Legolas bit his lip as he considered his father’s words. “I had not realized that.”

Thranduil sighed. “I know that the sons of Elrond are your friends, and I am not without empathy for the position in which you have been placed.”

“It is not just that, Adar,” Legolas replied. “I was just as angry about what Elrohir said as you, but...”

“But?” interrupted Thranduil. “Are there facts of which I am not aware?”

Legolas nodded slowly. “I was coming to tell you when Elrohir and Erestor arrived for their audience.” Legolas took a deep breath and let it out slowly, not sure how his father would react to his news. “I have placed Celeg in a holding cell until the party from Imladris leaves.”

“Celeg?” Thranduil questioned sharply. “You have placed one of my elites in a cell? What crime has he committed?”

Legolas resisted the urge to squirm, for Celeg had not broken any laws. “No actual crime...”

Thranduil arched a delicate eyebrow. It was not like his Greenleaf to be so reticent. “Then why not just tell me what he has actually done, and how it has bearing on what happened in this room earlier.”

Legolas quickly told Thranduil everything that had taken place when the Imladris party arrived; beginning with the comment he had overheard Celeg make the day Estel almost fell from the flet. “So you see...Elrohir was already furious about the insult to his brother...”

“And then saw the child with obvious signs of maltreatment,” finished Thranduil thoughtfully. “I am not without sympathy for his reaction, for I remember my own when I first saw Estel’s injuries, but I cannot allow such insults to stand unchallenged, Legolas.”

“Could it be delayed if Elrohir were physically unable to leave at dawn?” Legolas asked hopefully.

“Has he been injured in some way, other than tripping over his own big mouth?” Thranduil asked with a hint of humor.

Legolas looked vastly uncomfortable. “I am not at liberty to explain further, Adar, for it is a personal problem, but it is possible that he will be unable to sit a horse within a few hours.”

Thranduil considered this news. “Estel could be at risk should Elrohir not be in full form,” he murmured. “My decision stands, however I will send some of my personal guard to accompany them and insure their safety. They will go all the way to Imladris with them if necessary, for I will not risk Estel’s safety.”

O-o-O-o-O

Glorfindel sat in the rock-ing chair watching while Sariboril sponged Elladan’s brow with cool water. The Balrog Slayer had finally convinced Elrond to go to his own room for some rest. It was the first time since they had found the twin unconscious at the top of the steps that he had actually left his son’s side.

“I have never seen anything like this,” commented Sariboril, as she continued to blot and clean the sweat pouring from the twin’s body.

Walking into the room in time to hear her comment, Mithrandir explained: “What you are seeing is the last vestiges of the fire spell being rejected by his body.”

“I have never heard of a fire spell,” confessed the healer.

“It is best that you never know more than you do now about it, too,” advised the wizard. “Some things are best left alone.”

Sariboril shuddered, and returned her attention to Elladan. The twin was still dreadfully pale, but the wound to his shoulder seemed to be healing again. It was the perspiration literally pouring from his body that had her most worried at this moment. “We must find a way to replace the moisture he is losing.”

“I see that you were finally successful in convincing Elrond to leave for a time,” said Mithrandir to Glorfindel.

“It was not easy,” replied the warrior, “but a few well-placed drops in his tea aided our cause.”

Mithrandir chuckled. “Whose idea was that?”

Glorfindel’s eyes slid over to Sariboril, who was busy trying to look innocent.

Finally realizing that they were both looking at her, Sariboril snorted. “Well, one does what one must.” A feather light movement underneath her hand caught her attention. “Glorfindel...quick, summon Lord Elrond!”

“Elladan?” the healer said gently. “Follow my voice, child.”

A soft groan in answer brought a huge smile to her face as tears of joy filled her eyes. “Oh Mithrandir, he is coming back to us.”

Mithrandir chuckled deep in this throat. “I never doubted it. The sons of Elrond are renowned for their courage.”

Elrond came quickly into the room followed by Glorfindel. The Elf Lord sat on the side of the bed and placed both his hands on either side of his son’s face. With his thumbs on Elladan’s temples, he closed his eyes and sought his son’s feä, gently guiding it back.

The others in the room practically held their breath as slowly the twin’s eyes opened. “El?”

In far away Mirkwood Elrohir sat up and gasped. “Elladan!”

TBC

Naneth - Mother