Warnings: Abandonment
Word count: 2184
Other: Baby Legolas!
Requested: no
Thranduil swore never to love again, but he fell in love with the nanny of his son. When she gets pregnant, he makes a hasty decision and regrets it.
You watched as Legolas attacked his small wooden elf figurines with a dragon, and made them fall down.
"Dragon! Archers take position!" He lifted his elves up again and arranged them into a formation, pretending that they shot arrows at the beast. He crashed the dragon out of the sky, dropping it to the ground. He then ran to you, excitement glimmering in his eyes.
"Y/N, did you see? They killed the dragon!" You nodded, moving his blonde hair out of his face.
"I did, darling. But now we have to go to get you to bed now, your father is waiting for me." Your heart fluttered as you mentioned the king, Legolas' father, and your lover. You had kept the relationship a secret as Thranduil feared Legolas and the kingdom might think Thranduil was trying to replace his mother and the queen. You had never tried replacing the late queen, you only wanted both of them to be happy. Thranduil knew that. Or at least you thought he did.
You had been the happiest you had ever been for the past few years. When you had gotten over the feeling that you weren't good enough for Thranduil, your relationship started truly developing. But the happiness didn't last long. You started getting sick and feeling exhausted and went to see a healer about it as it worried Legolas. The young elf was greatly attached to you, and he didn't like it when you were sick. The healer dropped a bomb on your head. You were pregnant. And there was only one elf that could be the father.
"My lord?" Knocking on the door, you opened it and saw that the king was sitting next to his desk, writing something on a piece of parchment. When you entered, he lifted his gaze and his face melted into a small smile.
"Y/N. What brings you here?" You managed to smile a little and closed the door behind you.
"I just put Legolas to bed. I-. I need to talk to you." You felt your breathing hitching when his cold blue eyes landed on you.
"What is it?" He stood up, worried that something was wrong.
"I am-. I am-." You swallowed. This was it.
"I am with child. Your child."
Silence.
"Leave." You stiffened at Thranduil's words.
"W-What?" You couldn't believe your ears.
"Leave. I want you out of this kingdom by midnight." With that, Thranduil stood and left the room, leaving you standing there, heart shattered into hundreds of pieces. You managed to hold your tears in until you made it to your room. Once the door closed behind you, the tears started. You fell to your knees and sobbed into your hands, the feeling of heartbreak, of not being enough filled you, and for a while, you just sat there, crying, tears running freely down your cheeks. You thought he had loved you but it had all been a lie.
It wasn't. It tore Thranduil's heart to pieces to chase you away. But he had no other choice. The kingdom would not accept another queen, not so soon after his wife's passing. He also couldn't face Legolas and tell him that he was going to have a brother or a sister. But they had a different mother. He couldn't have his son thinking his mother had been forgotten. She wasn't. Even the thought of her made Thranduil's heart feel empty, and now that you were gone, there was no one to fill the void. Thranduil wasn't the same from the day you left. He closed off, shutting out his son and everyone else. He began spending most of his time in his study or his bedroom, and he rarely ever walked around the kingdom just to see the people like he used to.
- - - -
It was the eve of the Feast of Starlight, but Thranduil was not in a celebratory mood. He rarely was anymore. Legolas, now a grown elf, skilled with a bow, sword, and dagger, walked to his father as he was drinking a goblet of wine. Who knows how many he had already?
"Adar (father), I think you have had enough wine for the night. Perhaps it would be best if you retired to your chambers." Legolas suggested, and after a moment of pondering, Thranduil seemed to agree. He poured the last drops down his throat and stood up. Legolas was quite impressed by how steadily he stood after so much wine.
Legolas had thought it was best if he walked his father into his bedroom. It wasn't hard, his father could walk almost normally but his sense of direction was slightly off. They had walked along the quiet halls for a while when Thranduil spoke unexpectedly.
"Legolas. What do you remember of Y/N?" Puzzled, Legolas glanced at his father. He had always forbidden his son to mention that name.
"She was kind and gentle. And she smelled of cookies." Legolas hummed, remembering his nanny with a warm heart. Y/N had been like a mother to him after his own had passed all those years ago. Until she had just disappeared one day. No letter, no goodbye, nothing.
"I sent her away. I sent her away because she was pregnant and I couldn't tell you." Legolas stopped like he had hit a wall, stunned. She hadn't left of her own free will?
"Why did you send her away? She could have worked even if she was pregnant and after it." Legolas demanded an answer from his father.
"You don't understand," Thranduil muttered, and tried to move past his son, but he wouldn't budge.
"What I don't understand? Tell me." Legolas demanded, this time his tone had more weight behind it.
"Legol-" His father tried, but the younger elf wasn't budging.
"Tell me."
"I-"
"Tell me!" Legolas was yelling now, and at this, his father lost his temper.
"I chased her away because she was pregnant with my child! I chased her away because I couldn't bring myself to tell you that you would have a brother or a sister but your mothers would be different! I couldn't let you think that I tried to replace her!" After those words, Thranduil pushed past Legolas with force and locked himself in his chambers.
Legolas was in shock. Y/N hadn't left because she wanted to. She had left because she had no other choice. Because she was pregnant with the king's child, Legolas's half-sibling. He remembered how jealous he had been of Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen as they had each other to keep company and play with, but Legolas had been alone. He wondered how many times he had sat awake in his bed, begging Eru for someone to play with. And now he had just learned that he could have had someone?
- -
Legolas tried talking sense into his father, trying to coax him to leave the kingdom to find you, but his father was stubborn. He refused, and after multiple arguments, Legolas decided to go alone. He didn't tell anyone that he had left, he only wrote a letter to his father explaining where he had gone and why and not to come looking for him. He would only return home when he had found Y/N. No matter how long it would take him. He scoured dozens of cities, but no sign of Y/n. He never thought of giving up. He needed to find you. A small part of his mind kept suggesting that you might be dead, but he refused to believe it. He couldn't believe it.
The town he was visiting now was a small, quiet human town. He stopped to buy an apple from an old lady, who smiled at him kindly. Legolas was slightly startled, most humans were in a sort of state of awe visiting their towns and cities, but this woman didn't seem phased.
"It is nice to see other elves traveling into our small town."
"There are other elves here?"
"Oh yes, dear. They live in the light brown house up the hill. You won't be able to miss it." Legolas thanked the lady profusely and turned to leave, but the woman's voice stopped him.
"You remind me of one of them. You have the same hair." Legolas turned around, hope rising in his chest. He hoped the woman would elaborate more, but she just smiled. Legolas held in a sigh and started making his way toward the hill.
He didn't make it far before he stopped abruptly. Legolas stiffened as his and the other ellon's eyes met. It was like looking at yourself from a reflection of a moving lake. There were many similarities, but when you watched closer, really focused, the differences became noticeable. Same blond hair, but his eyes were a cold shade of E/C. This was his half-brother. Before he could do or say anything, the elf turned on his heel and walked away. After recovering from his shock, Legolas raced after him.
"Dartha! (Wait!)" He sped up his pace, trying to keep up with the other elf. He was fast, and he knew the area better. He disappeared into the crown quickly, but Legolas wasn't going to give up. He needed to see you.
He asked around the village, trying to find out if an elf lived there. He didn't have to try to for long, most villagers were helpful and pointed him in the right direction, saying there lived three elves here. They also said that their house would be impossible to miss. And it was. Made from pale brown wood, it stood out like a sword in a pile of daggers. White flowers filled the yard, and small carvings of deer, rabbits, robins, and all kinds of other forest creatures covered the wood on closer examination. Legolas followed the path made of white stones to the door and raised his hand to knock. He hesitated for a moment before giving three, clear knocks on the door.
A male voice sounded from inside.
"Who is it?" The tone was bordering hostile, but Legolas didn't let that bother him.
"My name I Legolas, I am looking for an elf named Y/N. I am an old... friend." There was a silence on the other side of the door before Legolas heard retreating footsteps. His mood sank for a while until the voice spoke again.
"Naneth, someone is at the door for you." Legolas' heart jumped as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door, the quieter and more delicate.
"How can I help..." Her voice trailed off when she saw who was standing at the door. The elf was much older than the Legolas she had known, but it couldn't be anyone else. His pale blue eyes hadn't changed a bit form since he was a child. He looked so much like his father that it was painful.
Legolas shifted his weight from one leg to another.
"Hello." You stared at him for a moment, and Legolas felt his heart sinking. What if you were mad at him? For not coming to look for you? His fear was quickly dismissed as you let out a shaky sigh, stepping slightly closer to him.
"Oh, Legolas." You sighed, lifting your hands to cup his face. Legolas closed his eyes as the familiar scent of you washed over him, as your warm hands pressed to his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around you and squeezed tightly, savoring your company after so long.
You invited Legolas in and introduced him to your children, his half-siblings. Lorelith, your daughter, every bit as stubborn and hard-headed as Thranduil, and Othor, your son, who is quieter and prefers writing poetry, take after you. They were both wary of the older elf at first, not having and idea how to act around him, but slowly, they warmed up to him. The first one was Othor, bonding, and then Lorelith. You talked in length about everything, but not once did Thranduil come up in the conversation.
Legolas returned back to Mirkwood after staying with you for two weeks. The goodbye was painful, but Legolas swore he would visit you and that he would not tell anyone where you lived as you swore him to secrecy. His father questioned him strictly, trying to dig out where he had been and if he had found you. But Legolas simply stated he had been traveling, seeing the lands around their kingdom. When Thranduil realized he wouldn't get any other answer out of his son, he gave up reluctantly, having to accept the fact that this time, he wasn't holding all the strings.
Part 2??
I have been working on this for months and now I finally got it done! Still quite slow in the writing front, we'll see if I can get the words running one day ;)