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Princes Three: Darkness Unforeseen	By : nuwing Category: -Multi-Age > Slash - Male/Male Views: 8756 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Only the quirks and perversions are mine. Everything else belongs to the creator-god of Middle-earth, J.R.R. Tolkien. I am awed by his gifts and humbled by his vision. No profit made or sought.

Chapter List
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Chapter 14
~Imladris 2524 III~

Legolas was struck speechless, staring in disbelief at the small group of elves that had gathered at the entrance of Elrond�s house as word of the party�s return spread through Imladris. His wildest imaginings could not have prepared him for the presence of one who waited anxiously at the foot of the wide stairs. �Galueth?� he whispered incredulously, drawing his sister into a crushing embrace. �How...why...what in the name of all that is sacred are you doing here?�
�It is good to see you, as well, t�ren,� she replied lightly, the gleam of moisture in wide blue eyes at odds with her flippant tone. �I had not visited the valley since I was a wee thing and thought summer a fine time to travel with Anteruon. As Ada agreed, our brother had little choice in the matter. I am to return with you.�
Legolas� brow furrowed slightly. �Anteruon is here? It is not his usual season.�
Galueth cast a quick glance at Elrond then lowered her voice, leaning closer to her brother. �Things are not well here, �Golas,� she whispered, the childhood name emerging unnoticed. �Not at all.�
Legolas followed his sister�s gaze to the valley�s lord, a listless figure in robes that seemed too heavy for the tired shoulders that bore them. Though Elrond embraced his sons warmly, the fleeting expression of relief that crossed his face was too soon gone, leaving his eyes again dull and empty. Even the tension that had hummed between the twins and their father since they had turned to vengeance was hazy and remote, as though Elrond no longer had the energy or interest to stand against them.
�He has sent Arwen away again, though she was loath to go,� Galueth murmured, her voice falling even quieter. �The memories in Imladris grieve her and her grief in turn pains Lord Elrond. But he has improved little since Arwen returned to L�rien. Anteruon is beside himself with worry.�
Giving his sister a final squeeze, Legolas moved away to greet Elrond, who accepted their usual embrace with a brief smile. If anything, the healer�s body felt more solid, less fragile than in the worry-filled days after Celebr�an sailed, but his face was curiously blank, the expression of disinterested calm eerie and unsettling.
�I am more glad than I can say to have you all back safely yet again,� Elrond said looking at each of his sons and then Legolas in turn, and for a moment there seemed a break in the emotionless mask he wore. �You no doubt wish to bathe, but I will have Erestor see to your meal.�
�Will you not join us, Ada?� Elladan asked quietly, his annoyance at the interruption of their hunt falling away under the weight of his reawakened worry over Elrond. �The kitchen will send food enough for a dozen.�
Elrond shook his head, a brief gleam of what might have been loneliness in his dim eyes. �Nay, I will not intrude.�
�It is no intrusion,� Elrohir insisted, shaking off Legolas� warning touch. �We would share a moment of your time, Ada.�
�Then remain in the valley beyond a few days rutting,� Elrond snapped, the flash of anger surprising him as much as his companions. The fire was gone as quickly as it had come, however, and Elrond bowed slightly. �Forgive me, Legolas,� he said tonelessly. After a second�s pause, he added, �I beg your pardon, as well, �Rohir...�Adan.�
�Ada,� Elladan began, �please...�
Legolas shushed him with a look, then reached out to touch Elrond�s arm. �Will we see you in the Hall, then, my lord?�
Elrond did not answer, moving away with a vague smile that was all the more troubling for its studied politeness.
*************
Elrohir sank deeper into the bath, the gentle slosh and swirl of the steaming water at last blocking out the tense voices that filtered through from the bedchamber. Elrond�s obvious decline had startled them all, putting Elladan and Legolas once again at odds, as they so often seemed to be over the past months. A slamming door - which the elf-knight fervently hoped announced the arrival of a meal rather than the departure of a disgruntled lover � shook the very floor, and Elrohir sat up reluctantly. Then the carefully controlled anger in Elladan�s voice flared, spurring a burst of poorly concealed frustration from Legolas, and Elrohir left the tub, quickly toweling himself dry. Such confrontations left him feeling helpless and exasperated with them both, and he wondered briefly if this was a glimpse of how Elladan had often felt over the years, mediating between angry twin and hot-tempered prince.
Every day, Legolas became more frustrated with Elladan�s lingering self-reproach, less tolerant of his moodiness and more inclined to criticize choices and decisions made in the thrall of his oft mindless rage. Elrohir understood, yet he was privy to Elladan�s thoughts and emotions in a way that was denied the prince. He knew the guilt-ridden anguish that still threatened to swallow his twin in times of quiet reflection, felt an echo of the self-loathing that waited in ambush. For Elladan, all accomplishments still paled beside the fact that he had been unable to secure his mother�s safety, unable to bind her to Middle-earth. Unable to forewarn, unable to heal. Useless.
Elrohir understood their lover�s frustration, but a part of him resented the callousness that increasingly permeated Legolas� response to Elladan�s despair. But he also saw, as Elladan apparently did not, how draining their near-continuous questing was for the woodland prince.
Legolas was far from home, harboring guilt of his own over what seemed, at times, desertion of his family and people. The years since Celebrian�s departure had found him in Imladris as often as Mirkwood, his skills given to the twins� quest for vengeance rather than the succoring of his homeland. While Thranduil did not command Legolas home, not yet, his displeasure at his son�s frequent absences and foolhardy sorties into the wild became clearer with each passing year. Legolas� heart was torn between lovers and father, between duty and the yearning to be with the twins, to safeguard them from both the orcs and their own fury.

The sharp tinkle of shattering glass sounded from the front chamber and Elrohir jerked on his leggings, running his fingers through his uncombed hair as he hurried toward the sitting room. The remains of a wine goblet littered the hearth, the deep red of the sacrificed wine standing amid the stones like the water of some bloodied pool.
�I am sorry, �Dan,� Legolas, his expression remorseful, whispered as Elrohir entered the chamber. �I had no right...�
�I am going out,� Elladan said tersely, turning toward the door without meeting Legolas' eyes.
�No, you are not,� Elrohir broke in, catching his brother�s arm and guiding Elladan firmly toward the table. �You are going to sit down and eat, and then you are going to rest.� Ignoring the bottle of wine, he poured a mug of fragrant tea, adding a splash of cream before handing it to his twin.
Elladan sighed, a sound somewhere between annoyance and amusement. �I need no keeper, t�ren,� he said pointedly, though he obediently sipped at the tea.
�Indeed?� Elrohir retorted distractedly, placing a large chunk of creamy yellow cheese and a generously buttered slice of hearty bread on his brother�s plate. �Humor me, then, Elladan. Eat.� Turning to Legolas, who still stood hesitantly beside the main door, the elf-knight motioned him to the table, as well. �Come and eat, �Las. The day grows old and you have had naught since breakfast, such as it was.�
Legolas glanced uncertainly at Elladan. He seemed to be constantly quarreling with the elder twin, ranting over some inane episode or another, speaking harsh words that were always immediately regretted, yet left their mark all the same.
Elladan did not speak, but nodded curtly in answer to the prince�s silent question. He knew his melancholy and fits of anger worried and ultimately frustrated Legolas, who must think his wallowing in guilt the worst kind of self-indulgence. But no matter how he tried, Elladan seemed unable to shake the spectre of his mother�s bruised and torn body, the emptiness of her eyes and the tearful pleas for a relief that he could not provide. Only in battle did the suffocating sense of failure ease, thus he had, since Celebr�an�s sailing, been ever eager to leave Imladris and reluctant to return.

And in fleeing his own pain he had perhaps abandoned his father to fate�s cruel hand, as well.
Do not take on all the burdens of Arda, t�ren. The guilt and loss are not yours alone to bear.
Elladan glanced at his twin, surprised that Elrohir had entered his thoughts uninvited.
�I did not,� the elf-knight said aloud. �I had only to look into your eyes.� Draining the last drops of his wine, Elrohir put down the goblet and slowly got to his feet, moving to stand behind Elladan�s chair. Threading his fingers through his brother�s still-damp hair, he began weaving the ebony strands into a loose braid.
Legolas shifted uncomfortably, feeling himself an outsider, a voyeur of sorts, as he watched the affectionate coddling. He started to rise and Elrohir stopped him with a piercing gaze.
�Sit down,� the elf-knight insisted. �I can go no longer without speaking, and you will listen. Both of you. This bickering must stop.�

Elrohir took a deep breath, ignoring the look of surprised affront that Legolas was aiming at him. Elladan�s face he could not see, but the elder twin had gone very still.

�I understand your distress with...with all of this, �Las,� Elrohir said carefully, �but it is not your place to judge my brother�s guilt and grief self-pity, nor his anger self-indulgence. You cannot know the depth of another�s suffering, even one so close to you as �Dan.�

Elladan shot a wary glance at the prince, almost fearful of the response the chastening would draw. Elrohir�s words all but echoed his own thoughts. To his surprise, Legolas did not strike back, but instead looked pensive, though his cheeks colored brightly.
Elrohir�s hands moved to his brother�s shoulders, rubbing the tense muscles soothingly. �Your reticence does not help, t�ren,� he pointed out gently. �Instead of opening yourself, you draw up your defenses and lash out, and in doing so you commit a grave injustice. �Las has all but left his own realm to be beside us in this fight. He has laid aside his duties and risked Thranduil's ire to aid us, and he has received little more than hard words for his trouble.�
�I want nothing except your health and happiness restored,� Legolas countered. �I am here because I choose to be.� His voice faltered. �Forgive me, �Dan...I...it is only that I feel helpless. I do not know what to say or do to ease your hurting, and the lack leaves me sharp-tongued and ill-tempered.�
�You have long since done more than any could ask,� Elladan replied, his own cheeks flushing. �And I am sorry if I have seemed ungrateful.�
�We well remember who helped draw us out of the darkness in the aftermath of Nana�s fall, who gave us back both sanity and soul,� Elrohir added soberly. �And you need not fear for us, anor n�n. You are needed at home...as are we.� He leaned over to press a kiss to the crown of Elladan�s head. �We will be staying in the valley for a while.�
�I have neglected Ada, left him to cope alone with both the Halls and his grief,� Elladan said morosely, even as his eyelids began to droop with exhaustion.
�We have neglected many things these past years, �Dan,� Elrohir corrected, giving his brother a gentle shake. �But that is behind us now. We are here, and we will help Ada find his way.� Offering Elladan a hand, he added, �At the moment, however, you would be little use to Ada or anyone else. Go lie down and rest awhile, t�ren. �Las will go with you.�
Legolas rose and slipped an arm around Elladan, then looked at the elf-knight questioningly. �Where will you go, �Roh?� The prince�s eyes twinkled with mischief. �And will you dress first?�
�I will not sneak out of the valley while you sleep unaware,� Elrohir promised, a faint smile curling his lips, �and I will not roam the halls half-clothed. I am going to dress now.� There was a pause and the elf-knight�s voice sobered. �And then, I am going to find Anteruon.�
*~*~*~*~*
t�ren � my brother

anor n�n � my sun
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Princes Three: Darkness Unforeseen