Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

A liaison in the Great Greenwood	By : Azukiel Category: +Third Age > Het - Male/Female Views: 7953 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any copyright to the Tolkien/ Middle-Earth fandom, nor to any of his canon characters or languages. I do not make any money from this fanfiction. Original characters however, are my property.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
Taking her gently into his arms, Legolas sat quietly with Adlanniel on his bed. She had shared no words to him as they had walked back to his tent, and now her entire being was broken and sullen. He had not been able to hear entirely what had been shared between her and his father, but it was obvious his father had scolded her far more harshly than he and Glorfindel had. But somehow he could not help but think that this was not the only reason behind her current disposition.
"Please tell me what words he had spoken to you to put you into this state." Legolas pleaded with her. He knew more than well enough of his father's cold and often cruel-hearted temper and now worried he had said something to emotionally scar her.

"As I told you..." She began wearily, "He said what simply needed to be said. I was out of place and had disobeyed him. He rebuked me, that is all."
Legolas furrowed his brow, still not believing her words in their entirety.
"I will have a word with him. He should not speak to you so coldly. You have suffered through enough already."
Adlanniel gave a small ironic laugh, her frustration with the entire situation becoming more outwardly apparent. "He is the king Legolas. He can speak to me, in fact to any of us, in any way he pleases for we are mere subjects in his kingdom."
"But you are not a mere subject." Legolas retorted.
"Is that not what we all are?" Her voice had become slightly more exasperated. Though she cherished Legolas' fierce loyalty to her, she knew that she deserved any ire to come her way. He yet did not know of her shortcomings towards him and she pained at the very fact that some part of her still desired the forbidden. It frustrated her that the feeling would not dissipate even now that her true soul-mate was there with her again. Further, the scoldings she had received from each ellyn had hit her hard and had brought her back to the reality of what she had done. Especially the words that the king had shared with her; that she could possibly make Legolas suffer the loss of a child due to her own stupidity. She did not want to cause any more suffering for anyone, yet would she be able to prevent herself from doing so now? The pendulum had already started swinging...
"You are a member of the royal household, Adlanniel." Legolas replied sternly. "You are no mere subject, as I have already said."
"We are all subjects under the king, despite rank or position Legolas. You of all should know that." She looked away from him then, her eyes once more beginning to lose their light. She was so very tired now as all of the stern words that were being shared that day were exhausting her. Legolas frowned once more. He knew that what she spoke was indeed the truth, yet his instinct to protect and defend her often took over his sense of reason. "Regardless..." He began, a slight huff in his voice. "You have suffered enough. My only wish is to see the light once more sparkle in your eyes."
Adlanniel looked up to him then and gave a weak smile in appreciation. She did not have the energy now to give him his wish.
"We are all suffering my dear, and I have been the cause of much of it...." And without waiting for Legolas to give a reply she lay herself down and closed her eyes. For a long while the prince looked down to her, having caught on that there was an underlying meaning in her words. Yet, he could not decipher what it was which only sought to make him worry more. Sighing, he leant down to her and began to stroke the side of her head softly, allowing her to fall into a peaceful slumber.
Assured that she was resting soundly he stood from the bed, wrapping the wool and fur cloak that had hung on the bed end around himself. Although he agreed with his father's sentiments towards Adlanniel to some degree, he would go speak with him about her. She was there now and in their present position they could not afford to send her back; they may as well make some use of her instead of trapping her in a tent like a prisoner. Yet would his father agree?

Thranduil had already begun to pour the warm Dorwinion into two chalices when the guard allowed the prince to enter the tent.
"Quel undome, ion." Thranduil began calmly, turning slowly to hand his son a chalice of the wine.
"Quel undome, adar." Legolas replied as he bowed his head, a sign of both thanks and respect.
"You are here because of Adlanniel I assume?" It was clear that the king already knew the answer, and the sudden chill in his voice made the prince feel slightly uneasy. Taking in a quick breath and a sip of the wine the prince calmed his nerves. "Indeed, adar. I would like to know what was shared between you both earlier, for even I could clearly tell how cold you were towards her." Legolas said, his appearance now steadfast. Thranduil furrowed his brow slightly.
"She disobeyed me on more than one occasion Legolas. I did no different to what I assume both you and Glorfindel did, I berated her for her actions." He replied, seemingly uncaring for what outcome he may have rendered.
"Yet neither of us had been as full of malice as you had been." Legolas bit coldly.
"Did you not hear the words I just spoke Legolas?" Thranduil snapped, his voice now filled with annoyance. "She disobeyed me more than once. Despite her position, as king am I supposed to let her simply do as she wishes within my realm? She herself said that she is not a child. Thus, she must face the consequences of her actions. I did what I had to. Nothing more, nothing less."
"And now what is to become of her?" Legolas pushed.
"She is to stay in your tent Legolas, unless I say otherwise!"
"So she is to be a prisoner then?" Legolas placed his chalice onto a nearby table harshly, almost spilling the wine over his hand.
"Would you prefer to have her walk about the camp, a lady of her rank witnessing the gruesome cruelties of war?" Thranduil said coldly, making Legolas wince at the truth behind his words.
"I am sure that she is well aware of the gruesome realities of war." Legolas shot back.
"As were you when you first arrived here Legolas?" The Elvenking questioned coldly, making the prince frown at the rhetoric. "Knowing what occurs and witnessing them first-hand are two completely different things. You should know that. We are not at the palace anymore. She cannot just go about doing as she pleases." And with that he too placed his chalice down onto the table, giving Legolas a glare to warn him not to push further. Legolas read the sign easily enough but could not help but feel dissatisfied. "It would be a waste of her talents to leave her in my tent all day..." He huffed.
"I would rather have her stay in your tent all day than risk having her fall into despair at what she will witness if she were to be allowed to wander too far. I would rather keep her as a 'prisoner' as you so eloquently put it, than to risk having her bleed again." Thranduil's hard gaze then turned to one of sadness.
"Bleed?" Legolas repeated aghast.
"I gather that neither Glorfindel nor Adlanniel told you?" Thranduil asked, sighing. "Adlanniel had bled sometime on her way here and had bled whilst Glorfindel had been healing her."
Legolas' expression then turned to one of pain and anguish.
"Thus I will not put her in another situation where she could lose the gwanûn ." Looking away from the prince then, his expression still sullen, he added mindlessly to himself, "No other child in our family shall be lost...."
Yet Legolas had heard his words. Before the king had the chance to retract himself Legolas' eyes widened and his mouth dropped agape.
"Adar?" He questioned, his voice quivering slightly at the notion of what his father had just said. Hitching his breath, Thranduil brushed the prince's surprise aside.
"No parent should have to suffer the loss of a child." He said simply.
"Adar...you said no other child in our family shall be lost..." Legolas' expression was now changing to one of desperation. What had his father implied? Had it indeed been a mere slip of the tongue or had it been intentional? Was not he the only child of the Elvenking?
"A mere slip of the tongue Legolas, nothing more. I am just very tired." By the tone of his voice Legolas knew his father was trying to avoid giving him a straight answer. It was extremely rare, if not unfathomable for the king to ever slip his tongue. Legolas knew that it was most definitely not the latter. "Adar! I know it is no mere slip of the tongue! Tell me what you meant!" He demanded, his voice pleading.
"Let it be Legolas..."
"Adar!?" The prince pleaded once more. He would not relent, not this time. Knowing this, the king let out a long sigh and turned solemnly back to his son.
"I think you better be seated Legolas, for what I have to tell you will weigh heavily on your already burdened heart..."
Legolas sat himself down beside his father. Trying to keep composed, his hands twitched slightly with nervousness.
"Do you remember how often you used to beg your naneth and I to give you a sibling?" Thranduil asked gently, a small smile crossing his face at the fond, yet brief memory.
"Yes ada, I remember well."
"She had been with child when she died." Thranduil's face once more darkened with a deep and painful sorrow. Legolas hitched his breath sharply at such news. Though he had understood it from his father's slip, it was still a shock nonetheless.
"She had been with child?" Legolas repeated, his heart too now weighing heavily at the thought.
"Yes."
"Why had you not told me?" He looked into his father's eyes then desperately.
"We had planned to tell you during the festivities of Nost-na-Lothion, but she had been taken from us before then. When I had informed you of her passing Legolas you had fallen into a deathly anguish. I feared that I would lose you too. That is why I could not part this knowledge to you, as I did not want you to feel any more heartbreak. I wanted to shoulder the burden for the both of us."
"Oh adar..." Legolas felt tears sting at his eyes once more. "I do not wish for you to carry these heavy burdens on your own. I am strong enough to help you with the load." He said gently as he placed a loving hand on his father's shoulder. "You should have told me this sooner. It is too heavy a weight for you to have to bear."
"I did not wish to place upon you any more burdens than I already had." Thranduil sighed as he took his son's hand into his own. It pained him even deeper now that he knew he was doing just that. What pain and anguish would his son feel if he were to find out about the affair? The mere thought of it made Thranduil's gut wrench with guilt. He remembered at that moment the plea he had said to his wife's image; why had he been allowed to fall so far? Yet, alas, it were to no fault but his own. He knew that, and that fault had to be corrected.
"It is my job as your adar to do anything to protect you. You will learn that too when your children are born, which, I believe, will be sooner than you can imagine."
Legolas gave a slight nervous laugh at the notion. "That fact is still yet to sink in." He grinned.
Thranduil laughed softly and patted the prince on the back. "Do not worry yourself Legolas." He began, his tone lightened now at more fond memories. "It took me half of your mother's pregnancy for it to finally sink in that she was pregnant with you."
"Truly?" Legolas laughed.
"Truly." His father confirmed. "I had been so ecstatic I had thought it too good to be true." He scruffed his son's hair affectionately.
"Now back onto the issue of your betrothed..." The king began, as he once more took his chalice to drink the remaining wine within it now that they had both calmed.
"I will allow the guards or those that we trust to accompany her on walks around your tent or the edge of the forest. However, by no means is she permitted to go within the bowels of the camp or near the healing tents in her condition, is that clear?" Thranduil ordered, his voice now once more paternal and stern. "If she disobeys my orders again I will give her no more chances or leniency. Thus you best drill that notion into her for it is clear that she chooses not to listen to me. If she does not do what she is told then I will not be able to protect her." His eyes once more darkened at the memory of what she had done.
"Yes adar, I understand." Legolas replied with a nod. "I will have words with her once more, but I expect that you will be at least a little more amiable to her in the future..."
"If she does what she is told." The king grinned, making Legolas give a small chuckle.
"That is fair, and I will speak to her on the morn for now she sleeps."
"As should you, Legolas. It has been a long day." His voice was almost teasing now, referring to the state the prince had been in that very morning. The prince could not help but feel his face flush slightly with embarrassment.
"Quel du, ada."
Thranduil smirked at his son's expression. "Quel kaima, iôn nin."

Though he knew that he should heed his father's words and take rest, his mind now was too flooded with thoughts. Checking his tent first to make sure his love was still asleep, Legolas silently made his way to the outer edge of the camp, to the ridge which overlooked the decline of the plains below. Sitting by the edge he looked over the nightscape of Rhovanion. It was a clear night and the twinkling stars blanketed the sky above like a million diamonds. Sighing, he rested his head upon his knees as he continued to look over the moonlit view, his elven eyes allowing him to see rather clearly despite the darkness. His mind slowly began to drift into thoughts of what had occurred that day. Adlanniel had arrived rather unexpectedly and in poor condition due to her escort to Imladris having been set upon. He now pained for those whose lives surely had been lost to protect her and her handmaiden. She had also informed him that she was with child; twins to be more precise, and his father had told him that his own mother had been with child when she had died. Legolas understood that that was indeed one of the reasons why his father had been so displeased with the arrival of Adlanniel; he knew what it was like to lose a mate and a child and thus did not want his son to suffer the same lest Adlanniel too were to lose her life.
It saddened the prince then, to think on how much his father must have suffered back in those days when his mother had passed. He had still been an elfling back then and due to his own suffering, he had not been able see the extent of the pain within his father's heart for he had hidden it all too well. Though now that his father was being more open with him he could see the anguish that had been hidden there for so long. Not only had he lost his own father, but he had also lost his wife and second child. As Legolas himself had said earlier, he wished his father would have at least shared some of the pain with him much sooner, for he had not wanted his father to suffer alone. But then he remembered his father's words; that he would do anything to protect him. To what lengths would he himself go to protect his own children once born? Would he try to shield them from the pains and burdens suffered throughout life, or would he allow them to experience some to harden them to the realities of the world? His father had indeed tried to protect him from those most burdensome, but had not entirely kept him away from life's many vast experiences. Thus he understood that there must be at least a balance and a limit to how much one would shield their children from. But as his eyes began to wonder over the flickering lights of the Easterling war camp in the far distance, he could not help but feel that undying dread; that something much darker would one day come upon them once more. Would he be able to protect his children, his family, from such a malice if it were indeed to befall them? Regardless of what may occur he knew he had to follow his father's resolve, he knew that he had to do anything to keep those he loved safe.

Sindarin Elvish - English
Quel undome - Good evening
Quel du - Good night
Quel kaima - Sleep well
Adar/ ada - Father/ dad
gwanûn - twins
naneth - mother
Nost-na-Lothion - Spring Festival
iôn nin - My son
elfling - Elf child
- 37
- 38
- 39
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A liaison in the Great Greenwood