~~O~~
The night sky covered the Elvenking's land like a warm blanket. Numerous stars twinkled in the sky. The wind gently blew across the ground, causing blades of grass to waver. It was a seemingly perfect night for the month of December.
Inside the meeting room of his halls, Thranduil and his son sat at the round, wooden table. The lights inside the room gave a small reflection outside, lighting up various patches of grass. The king was giving instructions to the prince about the second party that will be leaving soon with him.
According to the report they received, more elves were needed for Ithilien. 'A barren land' was how the first party described the place from the moment they arrived. His son only nodded and giving out his suggestions at times.
"That's enough for today, Legolas." he said with a fatherly tone in his voice.
Legolas nodded and promptly picked up the paper and rolled it.
"We'll resume this some time next week. For now, I would like to go back to my chamber." With a big grin on his face, he remarked, "Besides, your sister is probably driving your mother mental!"
Legolas laughed and stood up. "She's only more than a year old, Father. How can she be doing that?"
"Because your sister is a female, that's why," Thranduil simply answered. He then pulled the door open and exited the room. "She'll make you go mad, too." The pair started to walk towards the king's chamber.
The prince nodded his head in agreement. "But not you?" He raised an eyebrow.
"When she becomes older."
"Ah," Legolas crossed his arms. "You'll be chasing the boys off left, right and center!"
"Might be, might not. She will definitely look like her mother," Thranduil stated.
~~O~~
They stepped into the warmth of the king's room. The two found Mirialia sitting on the couch, and rocking Mirien slightly in her arms. She looked up and smiled warmly, though Legolas could see the exhaustion in her eyes. Thranduil knelt by his daughter and started pinching her cheeks gently, causing the little elf to squeal in laughter.
"Legolas, could you do a favour for me?" the queen asked over the laughing.
"Anything, Mother." Legolas answered.
Mirialia murmured for Thranduil to move, and once he did, she stood up and carefully placed her daughter in his arms.
"Could you possibly try and get Mirien to sleep?" Mirialia asked wearily. "I've tried everything."
"Sure. I'll take care of it." Legolas said, grinning. "You just get some rest."
Making sure his mother was fine, he ventured into his sister's room; a new small bed was placed by the window. Baby toys were piled up in a corner and a rocking chair was in another corner.
Legolas knelt down and placed Mirien in her bed. He rested his arms on the edge of the bedside and nestled his head in the crease of his elbow. Mirien gazed at her brother with an 'O' shape forming her mouth, and curious blue eyes. He chuckled and reached over to ruffle her hair lightly.
"What you staring at, little sister?"
Mirien broke out into a smile and pointed a finger to him. The prince knew that this was her answer for "you".
Legolas smiled at his sister's antics and then sighed. "To be honest, I have no idea on how to get you to sleep."
With all his attention focused on his sister, the prince was unaware that his parents were standing by the door listening in. The queen had feigned being tired in order to get Legolas to bond with Mirien; she wanted the two to have a perfect relationship and to look out for each other.
"Father would be way better at this than me," he continued.
Mirien only blinked and stuck her thumb in her mouth.
"Mind you, he does have the experience…" Legolas sighed and absently took Mirien's thumb out of her mouth.
Seconds later, the room was filled with the sounds of his sister's wails. Legolas gasped and waved his hands about.
"No, don't cry!" he turned his body half-way to the door, thinking on whether to call his parents or not.
He decided not to, so as not to disturb them. He turned back towards Mirien and picked her up.
"Don't cry," he soothed. "I'm sorry. Like I said, I have no experience."
Mirien soon stopped crying, instead opting to only a few sniffles. Her brother heaved a sigh of relief and placed her back into the bed.
"Guess you taught me a lesson, huh?" Legolas crossed his arms. "I won't make you cry again, I promise. If I do, then you can punch me, I swear."
The prince was suddenly reminded of something important. "Who's going to train you? Mother would not want you to train, being her only daughter, but you are Father's only daughter too. You'll probably need to protect yourself when you're older."
Mirien cocked her head in confusion. "Protect?"
"I have no idea why you just said that, but it sounded good." Legolas remarked. "You know, I wish there was some book or something, on how to be a big brother. All I know is how to be an only child and that's no good to you."
"Window." Mirien pointed towards the window.
"There's no one there, Mirien."
Legolas huffed and grabbed his sister's index finger with his thumb and finger. He gently shook her finger, causing the little girl to giggle.
"There, I made you laugh. And I thought Father was the only one who could do that." he let go of her finger.
"Ada!! Ada!!" Mirien clapped her hands together.
Legolas chuckled and brought his face closer to his sister's.
"You'll have a best friend growing up, you know. Calemir. He is Calen's son. And Calen is my best friend."
There was little reaction to this; the girl just stared up at him with a puzzled expression.
"I told Father earlier that when you're older, he'll be chasing off boys left, right and center," Legolas informed her. "He won't get a chance to do that, because they will have to go through ME first. I would not let any boys hurt you, I promise."
"Boys..." Mirien gawked up at the ceiling, rocking her body from side to side.
Her brother smirked. "You sound like an adolescent already. And let me tell you that it is not the best stage of your life. You and the king will most likely have the most arguments when you hit your adulthood years."
"Really?" Mirien tilted her head.
"See, you're arguing now," Legolas commented.
"No..."
"Yes, you are." Legolas said. He figured more events like this were going to crop up in the future.
The little girl quickly gave up and pouted.
The prince decided to change the subject. "You're very special to Mother, you know."
"Why?"
"Well, you draw most of your facial features from her, except that you've got your nose from Father." Legolas sighed. "But you're also special to him. You're his little girl, so he'll spoil you rotten. Lenneth told me that daughters are more special than sons to their fathers."
"Maybe..." Mirien giggled.
"At least that's one thing you agree with," he muttered. "You look so innocent. I wish you would stay oblivious to what the world is really like. But on the other hand, I want you to see it too."
Legolas knew the world. It always seemed peaceful, though before it never was.
"I'm going to protect you forever, Mirien. That's what it means to be a big brother, and I'm going to be the best brother there is."
Mirien sent him a smile, and then slowly, her eyes started to close.
Legolas leant over and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night, my sister. I'll always be here for you."
Always.
~~O~~