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                                                            Chapter 11

                                               Estel exited the Hall closing the door behind him and resting his back against it. He would give the elves a few moments before he re-entered the room. Estel felt that although his presence would not have bothered Legolas in the least, Thranduil would be less likely to feel that he had to maintain his dignity if he was alone with his son. He was still leaning against the door smiling, when Elrond approached a few minutes later. The elf-lord raised arched an eyebrow at his foster son.

                                                 “I take it that Legolas has awakened?” He queried, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. Estel nodded grinning from ear to ear.

                                                  “Yes, Ada. I thought it best to give them a moment.” Estel sobered meeting Elrond’s eyes. “Legolas looks a little better.”

                                                   “He will be healing for several days still, Estel, as will Thranduil. We came so very close to loosing both that it does not bear thinking about.” Elrond closed his eyes briefly. Legolas was as dear to him as a close relative, and although Thranduil occasionally grated on his sensibilities, he respected the King of Mirkwood and counted him a friend. The loss of either or both would have been a terrible blow. “Shall we see how well they are recovering?” Estel nodded and stepped aside opening the door for his foster father.

                                                     Thranduil was supporting Legolas’ shoulders, steadying a cup of water at his lips while the younger elf drank. Hearing the door open he glanced up to see Elrond and Estel entering the room. Setting the cup aside he eased Legolas back onto the pallet before turning to the approaching elf and human.

                                                      “ Peredhel, “ he acknowledged Elrond’s presence with a nod. “ You have your usual impeccable sense of timing. My thanks.” He finished gruffly. His brusque manner was masking the grief and guilt he felt over the events of the last couple of days. Elrond’s sharp eyes missed none of it, but he refrained from commenting.

                                                 “ And you are your usual charming self, Oropherion.” The Lord of Imladris returned smoothly. If Thranduil wished to take refuge in verbal sparring with him, Elrond was willing to humor him for the present. “ Will you cooperate and allow me to assess your health, or shall I call my sons to hold you down and give the humans something to gawk at?” Thranduil graced him with a haughty look, but conceded to Elrond’s request.

                                                 Elrond rested his palm along Thranduil’s cheek and gave him a searching look. “ You need a great deal more rest, mellon, but you are mending well. You sorely depleted your resources.” Elrond raised his hand, gesturing the other into silence when he would have taken offense, “ Peace, mellon-nin, I know well why you took that course of action and truly I would have done the same had it been one of my children. Rest yourself now, while I see to Legolas.” He turned to the prince with a faint smile which Legolas returned.

                                                   “ Mae Govannen,” Legolas greeted the Lord of Imladris formally. He was rewarded with a fond smile from the half-elven lord and an unconcealed look of pride from his father.

                                                    “ Not so well met as I would have liked, elfling. “ Elrond said wryly. “ I would have preferred to have greeted you when you rode into Imladris, but I am very happy to see you looking better than you did last night. Now let me take a look at you wounds.” Elrond’s tone brooked no dissent and he was somewhat relieved when Legolas made no protest. The elven prince was historically not a cooperative patient, prone to insisting that his wounds were minor even when they were not.  “Well, you seem to be on the mend, but it will be at least a week before you will be in any shape to pull a bow. I expect you to abide by that, youngling.” Elrond fixed him with a pointed glare.

                                                      “ He will, or he will answer to me,” Thranduil stated firmly, directing a glare of his own at his stubborn offspring. Legolas scowled, but acquiesced. The scowl’s effect was ruined by Legolas’ stomach choosing that moment to protest its current state of emptiness. Elrond’s chuckles joined Estel’s as the young man bent to fill a bowl with the broth on the hearth.

                                                         Thranduil rose from his seat on his pallet. After entrusting his son to Elrond and Estel he excused himself to leave the Keep’s walls to greet the sun as it rose. In truth, he had been inside the human structure far too long for his peace of mind. While the residents of the Keep had been nothing but solicitous, he was still uneasy around so many of them, his long held wariness of all but his own still firmly in place. He also needed time to mourn the losses of the days before.

                                                 Finding a staircase leading to the top of the wall, he swiftly made his way as high as he was able to go. He climbed up to top of the stairs and over to the deeping wall,  leaning his forearms on it and allowing the morning breeze to fan his face and ruffle his hair. He closed his eyes, letting the sun’s warmth seep into his body and listening to the birds and insects in the trees around the Keep. He could see the faces of all the warriors that had perished defending him and his son clearly in his mind. He stood still as stone, remembering each of them, mourning that he could not even offer their families the sparse comfort of their bodies to mourn over. By now the orcs would have left nothing to find. He was so lost in his dark thoughts that he did not sense Elrond’s approach until the Imladris lord was beside him.

                                                   “ Well it seems that the fruit falls not far from the tree, Oropherion. You are as good at brooding as your son can be. Berating yourself for the loss of your warriors, are you?” Elrond’s sympathetic look belied his harsh words.           “ Place the blame where it belongs, Thranduil, with the orcs. None of this was your doing.”

                                                     “ Was it not? I should not have ordered the horses loosed.  We might have been able to outrun them.”  Thranduil grimaced at the thought.   “ Taking to the trees was a mistake, and coming down from the trees was a mistake. Those warriors died because of a series of mistakes on my part, and I cannot pretend otherwise. My lack of good judgment cost the lives of eighteen warriors and very nearly cost the life of my son. Do not tell me it was not my doing.”

                                                       “ So you wish me to tell you that you are an idiot? What exactly did happen? I will have a better understanding if I know all the facts.” Elrond met Thranduil’s gaze steadily. He listened intently as the King of Mirkwood described the ambush and subsequent battles. He in fact already knew most of what had happened from speaking to Lord Feren and to Legolas, but he knew that Thranduil would not begin to heal until he spoke of what had occurred.  After Thranduil had finished, Elrond was quiet for a moment.

                                                        “ Thranduil, you had no way of knowing that there was a second group of orcs behind the first. You also had no way of knowing that they were herding you into yet another group. The only conclusion that I can come to is that while there were certainly mistakes made, none of them were such that would have much changed the outcome of the battle. As far as I can see, the fault still rests with the orcs and that is where the blame should rest, not with you.”  Elrond favored his companion with a strained look. “ I find that I am wearied and very much in need of refreshment. Let us go back inside and find out the quality of Lord Feren’s wine cellar.”

                                                  “ Elrond, we will likely shock him speechless. If I recall correctly, humans do not drink wine before their midday meal.” Thranduil’s mouth quirked at the thought.

                                                    “ Then we will shock him, although knowing Feren it will not be to the point of speechlessness. At the moment, I could not care less.” Elrond allowed himself a wicked grin. Thranduil shook his head, his mood lightened considerably as Elrond had intended.

                                                     “ I need to check on Legolas first, but I find that your idea appeals to me.” Thranduil answered sobering a bit.

                                                      “ He is sleeping again, and Estel is with him. You need to take some time to relax and come to terms with your grief apart from Legolas or you will do him no good. Come, mellon-nin, I insist.” Elrond smiled again as Thranduil allowed the Imladris lord to steer him away from the Great Hall.

                                                     To Be Continued