Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction ❯ Happy Easter Legolas ❯ Hesitant Pursuit ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

Hesitant Pursuit

Thranduil sighed and swallowed hard, he wouldn't allow his emotions to show in front of anyone other then himself yet he knew that the entire realm of Greenwood was slowly darkening under his hidden mood's influence.

Pelain watched his king sadly. He had known Thranduil a very long time but even now; he found it difficult to pinpoint the King's emotions which were hidden behind the same blank mask the king had worn the last two weeks.

`Have you had any luck yet?' asked Thranduil quietly; the exact same question he had asked Pelain everyday since the terrible kidnapping of his small son. `Nay,' responded the tall captain. `I am sorry Your Majesty but the orcs are starting to become troublesome in the North and we need to call off the search soon in order to deal with them.' Thranduil's fist cracked as his hand curled into a fist but other than that, he made no outward sign.

`You know the Noldor will send a ransom and until then we can do nothing. Do not despair Thranduil, someone is watching over Master Legolas, he will be returned to you safe and sound, of that I am sure.' Pelain bravely reached out and put his hand onto the King's shoulder.

Thranduil's eyes rose to meet Pelain's. Momentarily the captain feared that the King would strike him but Thranduil did nothing. Thranduil knew it took a lot of courage to call your king by his real name and touch him when normally it would have left you with 5 painful lashes from the whip. Thranduil understood the fact that Pelain was trying to comfort him knowing that there was no one else left for the job and for that, he was great full. He should have removed that stupid law years ago but hadn't really bothered about it because it'd never really been a major problem.

He smiled warmly at his captain. `Thank you,' he said simply. Pelain understood and nodded his head in acknowledgement then left, leaving the King to his own devices. He knew that the King had agreed to call off the search for now but wouldn't give up his fruitful attempts to locate Legolas.

* * *

Dawn saw the King of Greenwood out of bed and marching up the hallway to the kitchens. Thranduil was just rounding a corner when it happened; out of nowhere, an elf came dashing round the corner carrying half a dozen eggs in his shirt and a bag of flour over his shoulder. Too late to stop himself, he crashed into the King. The eggs and flour went flying and to the elf's horror, each egg landed with a splat on the King and at last, the bag of flour came tumbling down and exploded all over the King's head. When the dust cleared, the newcomer was able to see his unfortunate victim lying sprawled out on the floor covered in smashed eggs, flour and totally out for the count.

Swearing under his breath, he easily hefted the tall King into his arms and dashed down the hallway and out a small side door into the gardens beyond.

* * *

Thranduil came to slowly and rather painfully. His head ached dully but other then that, he appeared to be find. Thranduil tried to sit up but someone gently but firmly pushed him back down. `Hold up Your Majesty,' commanded the arm's owner. Thranduil blinked and tried to clear his vision, which he hadn't bothered to do before.

At length it did clear and he was able to see leaves and not a roof as he had expected. Puzzled, he rolled his head sideways and focused on the elf next to him. He smiled warmly and helped the King sit up then handed him a cup of some sort of funny smelling liquid.

As he moved into a seated position, he suddenly realized why the elf hadn't allowed him to sit up sooner. It was because he was in a tree and he was too disorientated to realize that and would have fallen had the elf not stopped him. Thranduil however, turned his attention to the strange elf and the cup of funny smelling liquid in his hands.

He wondered why an earth he was sitting in a tree to begin with. Slowly his memory returned and he remembered the fatal collision. Glancing at his clothes, he discovered that they were reasonably clean despite the fact that they had formerly been covered in eggs and flour. His hair however, was another matter. It was several shades lighter now and Thranduil was not particularly pleased that much of it was stuck together in messy clumps and rather mattered. The elf shrugged as he noticed Thranduil's inspection of his clothing. `I hadn't got to cleaning up your hair before you woke up,' he explained.

`Who are you?' asked Thranduil. He was sure he'd never seen the elf before. `That doesn't really matter your majesty. I'm just here to deliver a message,' he replied. He reached inside his tunic and then passed Thranduil a scroll. `Drink up first,' he ordered and resumed packing up his small pack. Thranduil lifted the cup and smelt the contents then grimaced. `What is this stuff?' he demanded with some disgust. `Just tea,' replied the elf. `What's in it?' asked Thranduil instead. `Athelas,' responded the elf again. Thranduil frowned, he'd never heard of it before. `Commonly know as Kingswood,' explained the elf then grunted with some satisfaction as he managed to finish packing his pack. Thranduil looked at the elf with some surprise. `But that's just a weed,' he said. The elf grinned. `Aye it is but it can be useful for all manner of things, especially for clearing a muddled head after a few hours in the realms of unconsciousness.'

`Now I best be off I spose,' he announced. `Why?' Thranduil asked a little surprised. `I don't really think I want to be around when you read that letter,' he said with a chuckle. He flashed Thranduil a mischievous grin then leapt out of the tree and onto the ground some 10 feet below and then he was gone, vanishing into the gardens.

Thranduil drained the cup, biting his lip after he was done and shuddering with disgust. Quickly, he then opened the letter.

Dear Thranduil

I am writing to you from the hidden valley men call Rivendall on the Western side of the Misty Mountains beyond the High Pass. Perhaps the name Imladris may sound familiar as it is what the valley is called by elves. Know that your son is safe and in good hands. I do not know if you or anyone in Greenwood knows the way to Imladris so I send this map and pray that it will guide you truly to your destination. It has been many years since the Noldor consorted with those of Greenwood and vice versa so I am unsure of how much your people or you know of the hidden valley of Imladris.

Do not attempt to come marching up to Imladris with your army thinking that you can take back your son by force. This is not the case as I will allow you and only you to enter the valley and bring my own sons with you. My home is not know as the hidden valley for no reason, there are many spells which protect the valley and I'm afraid you'd find it very difficult to even locate the valley should I discover that you bring an army to try and force me to give up you son.

I will send someone to guide you though it is very unlikely that you will even see him unless it is absolutely necessary. I pray that your journey is successful and I would advise keeping this to yourself.

Till we meet,

Elrond, Lord of Rivendall.

Thranduil stared at the letter and then re-read it. There was no mistaking it; this letter was definitely from the kidnapper whose name was Elrond it appeared. Thranduil shuddered, he had definitely heard of the name Elrond and he remembered well the tales he had been told of that particular elf. He remembered how he had heard during the Last Great Alliance of men and elves that Elrond was incredibly cold and cruel and had little mercy for his enemies even if they were orcs. He remembered some of the things he had heard that Elrond had done to orcs but quickly thrust those thoughts aside, they were definitely not pleasant.

He had also heard of Imladris, the hidden valley. Of course, there were rumors surrounding the valley as well but Thranduil just thought of Elrond as plain downright selfish for that particular act. Who did he think he was taking a whole bunch of elves and hiding away in a valley for the rest of his days?

Despite the rumors however, Thranduil remembered Elrond's soft, sad voice when they had last met and the way he had seemed quite disappointed about the whole affair.

Never the less thought Thranduil as he got to his feet and tucked the letter and map into his robes, he now understood why the elf had left in a hurry. After all, if he'd been around Thranduil was sure he would have punched him and then had him locked up after he'd read the letter.

Still, he wasn't about to start playing the Noldor elf's game just yet. Deciding he needed time to think and compose himself, he gracefully climbed out of the tree and headed back to the palace. On the way, he destroyed a few bushes with his sword and punched a couple of trees. He heard a few of his fingers crack and break and his knuckles started to bleed but by the time the palace appeared about a hundred metres away, he was feeling much better.

Pelain suddenly appeared, his face livid with barely contained fury as he came marching out of the gardens from the opposite direction. `Really Your Majesty I must protest!' he said angrily. `Oh shut up, you sound like an old wind bag,' said Thranduil irritably, cutting the captain off. He knew jolly well he'd been missing for a few hours but he could hardly help it. He left Pelain staring after him in surprise as he stalked past him and into the palace, slamming the door behind himself.

* * *

Thranduil returned to his own chambers and ordered a bath to be drawn. It was done much quicker then usual as the servants seemed to sense their King's foul mood. Thranduil spent several hours in the bath vigorously cleaning his hair and then thinking about the letter again and trying to come up with a possible solution. He found none and eventually the bath water became too cold for even Thranduil to bear.

He climbed out and dressed, not even bothering to tie back his hair. He then ordered up an early tea from the kitchens and took it to his study. There, he returned to his old habit of getting busy so that he wouldn't have to think about the problems at hand. It was near sunset that he finally threw up his hands in disgust and retreated to the balcony. He spent the next couple of hours muttering over the possible outcome of whichever path of action he chose to take concerning the letter.

By now, most of the palace knew of the King's short disappearance and his foul temper for the remainder of the day. None dared to disturb him but the palace also failed to notice the disappearance of one of their staff. The tall golden haired elf with icy blue eyes that sometimes held a hint of mischief, which had been employed in the kitchens only a week ago, had also vanished. Those that did notice didn't worry about this fact because most had thought he was just a wanderer from the edge of Greenwood and would probably return to his home within a few days anyway. The wanderers rarely lasted in the palace.

Around 9.00pm that evening Thranduil finally came to a conclusion, not one that he particularly liked but it appeared to be the only sensible option to take. Swallowing his pride had been difficult but Thranduil had done it all the same and had written two quick notes, one to his son asking him to return home immediately and one to who ever should find it and report it to Captain Pelain.

Then he swiftly returned to his room, put together a small pack and changed into a more sensible garb to wear outside. He took one last look around his room, mentally ticking off everything that had needed to be done and then, satisfied that all was in order, he turned and slipped outside his room into the hallway beyond.