Faded Light

(For additional notes and disclaimers please see top of Chapter 1.)

--Here's a new one, and it's got Thranduil in it.

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review...keep the comments coming; they keep my muses happy.--


Chapter 15
The House of Oropher


That humans can do such things to their own kind, he thought, finding himself walking in a near-daze through the corridors, once the rebels had finished with their bloody work...past the dead; the priests and their acolytes, the people of the city, is it any wonder they do not think twice about inflicting pain on one forlorn Elf...?

The sight of one bloodied figure suddenly caught his attention, and he found himself kneeling beside the barely breathing body of Prince Emau; a dagger still in his side as he leaned against a wall.

He wondered in passing that those Men had not made certain to finish the king’s son, but dressed as he was now, in the ordinary clothes of a priest’s acolyte, he could easily have been taken for any other youth at the temple, if the rebels did not know the younger prince by sight...

Mind racing, as he tried to put to use long ago lessons in battlefield medicine, the slave reached for a discarded cloak and began tearing it to use as bandages, leaving the dagger in place for now...

If this were anyone else, he might not think twice about leaving him to his fate. But the prince had been kind to him; more than anyone else had been in ages...he had prevented Arya from killing him that day; though Dafi had still to make up his mind as to whether that had indeed been a kindness or not.

Damn him, the elf berated himself, why couldn’t this one be as easy to hate as all the others? And why couldn’t he himself, let his bitterness rule his head, and let the young Man die?
The pain of the pressure he put on the wound caused Emau to open his eyes.

“Dafi...” it took the prince several seconds to register what had happened. “It’s too late...” he whispered through his pain, shaking his head, “they’ve taken the city...killed everyone…my brothers...

“...leave me,” he finished when he had caught his breath. “If you go now, none will stop you...”

To run...Valar, it had been so long since the last time he tried to flee...and the punishments that followed...

He had never wanted to go though that again. Had never afterwards made an attempt at escape...but now...

I am a fool, he thought. They have destroyed me in every way possible, and still I cannot leave this one here.

Taking a deep breath, he put an arm around the young acolyte’s shoulders and helped him to stand. Emau grimaced and gave him a confused look, but quickly nodded and allowed the slave to lead the way.


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“Have you noticed lately that Saelbeth has been acting a bit strangely?” asked King Thranduil, neatly putting away the afternoon’s paperwork into its proper folder and setting it aside before he began looking over one of his account books.

“Saelbeth? No, Uncle, I had not noticed.”

“I thought you two spent quite a bit of time together,” the elvenking said in a tone that left Leralonde wondering but completely uncertain of just how much he knew.

“I’ve known Saelbeth almost eight hundred years and he’s rarely asked for a personal day. Now he’s requested an indefinite leave to make some sort of trip.”

“I think he wants to visit his family in...”

The king waved away the unconvincing excuse and looked up for the first time. “He’s never been that close with them.

“Though it is probably best he takes this little trip of his now. If I have finally found you two out, others might.”

“Found out?”

“Give your old uncle some credit, Penneth. I was your age once...Ai, the trials I went through to wed my queen." For a moment, he smiled slightly at some distant memory. "Thalielwen was hardly my father's first choice as a bride for his heir.

"But you cannot help who you love.”

He returned his gaze to his nephew. “I know well the looks you and Sael send each other’s way; though you are both quite skilled at concealing it most of the time.”

“I know you do not approve, Uncle, but...”

“About you and Saelbeth?” He put down his pen and closed the book, sitting back to give his full attention to his nephew. “Nay, he’s a fine young Elf.

“There is not enough joy in this realm anymore. It is good to see when others find it.”

“I had not thought you would be so understanding.”

"I am not without a heart despite what some may think...and I am not so much in the dark as to cast judgment on anyone's...intimacy...

“Both my sons are gone,” said the older Elf, his blue eyes taking on a mournful, faraway look. “One to some unfathomable darkness, the other because he will never accept the loss of his brother. Perhaps it has all made me more tolerant than I once was.

"Had I not been so hard on Legolas..."

“Uncle...”

“I want to believe he was fortunate enough to escape whatever fate befell him and waits for me in Valinor.

“One day I will join him. But not until you are ready,” he said, returning his attention to the prince. “I know your feelings on this, Penneth. But it is you place now.”

“I do not feel that it should be.”

“If you did, I would not have such confidence in you as my heir.

“Ethiel is an able warrior,” he said, “but I do not see in him the character of one who would rule our realm or lead our House...”

Thranduil smiled again. “You will be a good king one day, Londe, especially with as wise a partner as you have chosen.”

“Thank you, Uncle. Your trust means a lot to me, and having you on our side. But Legolas...”

The king’s smile disappeared and he looked away again. “It has taken me this long, but I think I am beginning to learn to live with things as they are, as must we all.

“I cannot keep grieving, and I can no longer hope for his return, for I have come to fear that to wish so blindly binds him to some cruel fate.

“My dreams haunt me,” he almost whispered. “One dream, in fact. So terrible I cannot even speak of it. To think of my noble son enduring such horrors kills my heart. But perhaps by my letting him go, he will somehow be free.”

“Uncle,” said the prince, deciding it was the best moment for honesty and bringing him out of his unhappy reverie. “Saelbeth is with child. That is why he is leaving for awhile.”

Something he could not read crossed the king's face. “I did not realize he was fertile.”

“Neither had he actually.”

“It is perhaps best he makes this trip then. To say that Ruthlagor will be livid when he learns of this, would be to underestimate him.

“And if it is a boy, that child will be second in the line of succession," he added.

“Perhaps it will be a princess then,” beamed the younger elf, refusing to think for the moment of his father’s reaction when he, now, unavoidably learned of his relationship with Saelbeth.

“Perhaps,” Thranduil couldn’t help returning his nephew’s smile.

“Just give me some time to work on your Adar, Penneth. I promise we’ll get Sael and your child back home as soon as possible.”


TBC...


Elven Translations:


Penneth / Young One

Adar, Ada / Father, Dad, Daddy

(Note: The name “Ruthlagor” means “Swift Anger.” I chose it because it seemed to suit the character’s personality.)


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Review Responses:


Thank you for the encouragement Yvette...I know I haven’t been too diligent in posting lately. I’m sorry about that, I just keep getting busy with other things lately and putting off getting new chapters up...I will try to do better in the future...I definitely don't intend to abandon the story...

And no, this is not my first time writing fiction. I’ve been writing different kinds of stories for almost fifteen years, (so far unpublished) but I had never written a fanfiction before...

The baby issue will become clear in the next few chapters, which I will make an effort to post over the next month or so...thanks again for reading and reviewing...