Chapter 1: Escape 

Green eyes flew open in the darkened room. What was that noise?  A small golden head bobbed up as the elfling sat up.  Something was happening.  He was sure of that.  There were voices and they were talking.  It sounded like… well, he did not know what it sounded like.  There it was again.  His name.  And now he was sure it was his nana but it did not sound like his ada that she was talking to.  Thranduil’s eyes grew wide and he jumped as the door to his room flew open and his nana came rushing in and started grabbing some clothing and stuffing it into a small travel bag.

“Come, Thranduil.  We have to go.”

Go? That was not right. It was time to be asleep.  The noises were louder again and this time Thranduil was sure it was elves running and yelling and screaming.  He jumped from his bed and ran to his nana.

“What is happening, nana?” he asked, trying hard to be brave and swallow the fear that was welling up inside. 

“You need to get dressed, sweetling,” she said hurriedly as she knelt down and began helping him change into leggings and a shirt.

“I need a tunic, nana.  It is not proper to go out without a tunic on over my shirt.” 

Thranduil was not going to leave his family’s rooms without his tunic after the last time when he had been scolded for ‘running around half-dressed’ as his ada had put it.  Thranduil thought his ada and nana were too concerned about what everyone else thought. 

Hearing the noise outside the door again, he looked toward the room adjacent to his.  Maybe the dwarves were back, he thought in a near panic.   The dwarves were bad.  They killed the king and then stole his jewelry.  Thranduil did not remember when it happened, but he knew that his ada and some of the elves of the Menegroth guard went after the dwarves who had done it and recovered the king’s jewelry.  Stealing was wrong.  With a sudden gasp, Thranduil looked up.

“Nana, where is ada?  We cannot go and leave him!”

“Ada will meet us later, sweetling.  Here is a tunic… come now, we have to hurry.”

The noises outside the door were steady now and Thranduil knew by the sounds of the screaming and running that something very bad was happening, just like when the dwarves came.  Before he had time to ask if it was the dwarves again, his nana took his hand and hurried out the door.  Thranduil had to hold her hand tight to keep from being separated and he wished she would just carry him before remembering that he was too big for that now.  Besides, nana had to carry their things.

The screams and shouts of the elves of Menegroth filled the stone hallways, echoing down long corridors.  Occasionally shouts for vengeance came to Thranduil’s ears and he always turned to see who was shouting.  He recognized many of the elves who were running and shouting.  He did not see any dwarves though. Some elflings that he played with were being pulled along by their parents, but Thranduil still did not see his ada.

It was with wide eyes that Thranduil did his best to stay with his nana and not get separated.  He held onto her hand as tight as he could and was glad when she pulled him into a small room off the main hallway.  At more screams out in the hall and strange thumping noises, though, he felt a hand over his mouth.  He struggled, only to be pulled back sharply and held tightly against his nana.  Tears formed in his eyes.  What was going on?  Why was everyone yelling and running and why had his ada not come to help him take care of his nana?

Soon the noises outside the little storage room died down.  Or at least the screaming and yelling seemed further away. 

“Thranduil,” he heard his nana say in his ear. “I need you to be brave and not make noise, can you do that?”

Thranduil nodded.  He could be quiet when he needed to be. He was not so little anymore.  His nana opened the door and looked out.  She gasped and hesitated, then pulled her head back into the little room and whispered to him again.

“I know you are my brave warrior.  Just look at nana and not at anything else. Can my brave warrior do that?”

Again Thranduil nodded.  His nana was pretty and he could look at her.  He looked at her now and saw a funny expression on her face.  He did not know what it  meant.  Soon he found himself  back in the hall and trying very hard to just look at his nana as they passed other corridors that branched off the main one.  Something moved down the hall and his eyes flashed to it.  Before he knew it, Thranduil gasped.  Blood.  There was blood on that elf!  He did not know who it was, but it seemed to Thranduil that the elf backed against a wall and then sort of slumped over and fell.  Turning his head to look around, he saw that there were a lot of elves lying in the corridor and they were all bleeding! 

Panic set in.  Thranduil wanted his ada.  He knew his nana would try to protect him but his ada had a bow and a sword. 

“Ada!!!” he cried loudly, wondering why his ada had not come to protect them.  “I want ada!!!”

Tears were now falling freely.  Before he could stop himself, Thranduil pulled hard trying to get his hand loose from his nana’s.  Nana just kept hurrying toward the entrance.  She was going so fast that Thranduil had to run to keep up.  When he tried to stop running he nearly fell over because nana was not stopping.  He could hear her talking to him but in his panic understood nothing.  He tried to focus on her voice and listen.  Run.  She was telling him to run.  Moving his legs as fast as he could, Thranduil began running faster. He could see the entrance to Menegroth just ahead, but he could also see bodies of elves, some he now recognized as warriors who were under the command of his ada.

I promised to be brave, he told himself as he kept running with his nana, finally bursting outside and into the forest.  Still they ran.  He was tired and his legs hurt and he wanted his ada with them.  Thranduil tried to pull away again, this time harder, only to be met with his nana pulling back on his arm. 

He had to find his ada. What if his ada was one of the elves lying on the floor?  What if some of that blood was his ada’s?  What would happen to him and his nana?  Why had he not seen any dwarves if the dwarves were back?

Finally the running stopped.  They were in a small clearing that Thranduil did not recognize and there were other families there too.  They were all crying.  He looked up at his nana.  She was crying too.  Thranduil started to cry again.  He wanted to go back to his bed and go to sleep.  He was tired and his legs hurt.  Nana sat down and pulled him onto her lap.  For a long time he sat trying to stop his tears.  He could feel his nana’s cheek on his head as he slowly began to calm down.  Soon Thranduil’s eyes became heavy and then everything was gone and he slipped off to dream restless dreams of blood and dying elves.

***TBC***

Chapter 2:  Decisions

Thranduil stirred slightly as he nestled closer to the familiar warmth that was holding him.  In his half sleep he could hear low voices but could not focus on any one in particular.  Thranduil was sure that he did not want to wake up.  He could tell he was not in his bed and the memories of being woken in the middle of the night were coming back to him.  Though he was slowly beginning to wake up, he pretended to still be asleep.

“You misunderstand me, Aniraêl.  We cannot go back because there is nothing to go back to!”

“Nothing?”

“Dior is dead and Menegroth is destroyed.  I brought what I could fit in my pack.  They did a thorough job of destroying everything they could.”

“Are we all that is left? Just the few families hiding here?”

“Another group has escaped and are following the river to Sirion.  Elwing is with them and she is taking.. it.. with her.”

There was a long silence after that and Thranduil found himself drifting back to sleep.  He did not know what they were talking about and was still too tired to think about it.  Instead he just nestled closer.  When he awoke again, the grown-ups were still talking.

“Lord Oropher, what of my husband?  He rushed out to join the fight when the attack began, but I have not seen him since he left.”

Thranduil never heard the answer to the elleth’s question, he only heard her anguished cry.  He opened his eyes and sat up.  He had heard his ada’s name.  It was only after sitting up that he realized he was sleeping in his father’s arms.  With a cry of his own, Thranduil threw his arms around Oropher’s neck and found himself enveloped in the warmth and security he had been looking for the previous night. 

Thranduil felt sorry for the elleth, but he was just glad to have his ada back.  As he clung to Oropher tightly, he saw his nana go with the other elleth a little way away.  He could not hear what they were saying, but he saw his nana hug the other elleth, then turned back to his ada when he heard him speaking softly to him.

“You are safe, little one, and we are together.  Nana and I will not let anyone hurt you.”

“Ada! I called you but you did not come!” he said accusingly.  “ I saw… I saw…” Thranduil was not certain he could explain what he saw.  He knew he saw bad things but he did not think he could make his ada understand how scared he had been.  Feeling tears begin to sting his eyes, Thranduil leaned his face against Oropher’s chest.

“Shhh, I know, ion-nin.  I came to you and nana as soon as I could.”

“Nana said to be brave and I tried to but I cried.”

“Crying was not shameful, Thranduil.  You were frightened and did not know what was happening.”

Thranduil dragged a sleeve across his eyes and looked up.  “What was happening, ada?  Why are we here and when can we go home?”

The look on his ada’s face was not one that Thranduil could easily recognize and he thought maybe he had asked something he should not have.

“How would you like to go to a new home?” his ada asked after a long pause.

Thranduil was confused.  He already had a home and he wanted to go there.  He had his own bed in his own room with his toys and his clothes and his friends were here too.  He did not see the need to go somewhere else.

“I like our home now, ada.” He said, suddenly feeling worried. 

“Well yes, of course.  But in a new place you would be able to help nana and I decide where we wanted to live and which room would be yours and what furniture you would like. In fact, you can even help decide what colour you would like your room to be.  And just think of the adventure of going to a new place.”

Thranduil thought about that.  He sniffled before managing to nod at his ada.  It did seem like it might be fun to go on an adventure.  He would definitely be braver for this adventure.  But what about his things?  What about all of their things?  Nana had lots of nice clothes and Thranduil himself had many things that he did not want to leave behind, and more than just toys.

“How are we going to move my bed?”  he asked after a moment of silence.

“Well you will get a new bed,” his ada replied.  “Perhaps you can help me make a bed for you, that would make it very special.  The important thing is that we are all together and we can take care of each other.  Our belongings are not so important.  They can always be replaced, little one.  Remember that.  Lives are far more important than belongings.”

Thranduil considered that.  If he and his ada made a new bed for him it would be very special, of course, but so was his other one.  He had not had that bed very long because he was too small to have a big bed before.  Looking at his ada, it seemed to Thranduil that it did not matter all that much if he wanted to go somewhere else or not, they were going to go.

“Will the dwarves be able to get us, ada?”

The look on his ada’s face was one that he easily recognized.  He was confused. 

“The dwarves?” he asked.

Thranduil nodded.  “Did the dwarves come back? Is that why we had to run out and why there was…” Thranduil tried not to think about what he had seen.  It was too frightening.  “Why everyone was running everywhere?”

Before he knew it, Thranduil found himself wrapped up in his ada’s arms again.

“No, little one, there were no dwarves.”

“But...” He wanted to ask why they were outside in the forest instead of in their rooms.

“There are some people who would hurt others just to get things that they want for themselves, ion nín.  It is wrong to hurt others because you want something for yourself.”

Thranduil thought about that for a minute.  “Ada?  Was it elves?  Did they want the king’s necklace like the dwarves did?”

When no answer came right away, Thranduil looked at his ada.  His ada looked at him and then nodded.

“Yes.  They were elves and they want the necklace of the king because it is very special.”

“I would never hurt anyone to steal things from them,” he said softly, “not even special jewels.”

“I am very happy to hear that, ion nín.”

“You will be with us when we go somewhere new, though Ada, right?”

Thranduil’s ada smiled and nodded as he gave him a squeeze, “Of course I will.  I can not leave you and nana to go off on an exciting adventure without me.”

Thranduil smiled and threw his arms around his ada’s neck.  “I will let you go with us then,” he declared.

A sudden thought occurred to Thranduil.  He knew that his ada said that it was okay that he cried and that he was still brave, but he couldn’t help but wonder if even though it was okay, it was going to change other things. 

“Are you still going to make sure I get my own bow that is my size even though I was not brave for nana?”

“I think you were plenty brave for nana, Thranduil, and as soon as… well as soon as I can I will make sure you get a bow.”

Thranduil smiled.  He had been looking forward to getting his very own bow and was glad that his ada still thought he was big enough to have one.  Thranduil’s ada told him that bows were the first things that elves hunted with and used to protect themselves - even before they had swords - and Thranduil wanted one of his own so he could learn how to hunt… and protect his family.

*** tbc ***

Chapter 3:  Journeys and Revelations

Holding onto his naneth’s hand, Thranduil walked.  Most of the other elves around them were walking too, though some had horses.  His ada had a horse, but he did not get to ride with him very much.  His ada was at the front a lot and sometimes he was riding where Thranduil could not see him, but he knew that his ada was making sure that the bad elves did not come back.

He was glad that he did not have to carry anything like some of the other elflings did; he was having a hard enough time walking without carrying anything.  He was tired of every day just walking without seeming to really be going anywhere. 

At first it had felt like an adventure, but that did not last long because he was hearing things from the older elflings that made him realize that everything was wrong.  Gildin said that not just warriors were killed, but nana’s were too and so were elflings.  When he had heard that, Thranduil felt something strange inside that he did not recognize.  Thinking about it now made him feel it again.  He felt like something was missing – something that he would never be able to find again because it was broken and the pieces of it had been scattered about the leaf litter on the forest floor.

“Nana, I can walk by myself,” he declared as he worked his hand from his mother’s.  “When are we going to stop?”

Aniraêl looked down at Thranduil as she let go of his hand.  “It is still early, little one.  We have a little way to go yet before we stop.”

“ I am hungry and I want to stop.”

Thranduil thought all they did was walk all day long.  It seemed once they got up and everyone finished dressing and eating, they started walking again.  Sometimes nana carried him and sometimes ada carried him, but most of the time ada was up front or off somewhere else making sure that nothing bad happened to them.

Thranduil scowled.  Nana had not answered him.  That meant that they were not going to stop.  “I am hungry now.  I want to stop now.”

His nana pulled out a piece of wrapped up fry-bread and handed it to him.  Thranduil looked at it as he walked next to her.  They had eaten fry-bread for breakfast with berries and he knew that this was left over from the morning.  He did not want to eat it.  He wanted something else.  Something better.  Something like they used to eat. 

Thranduil’s face contorted in anger and with a welling up of emotion he stopped walking and threw the bread as hard as he could.

“No!” he screamed as he stood in the middle of the path, fists balled at his side.  “I want something else and I want to go home!” 

Tears began streaming from his face as he stood still in uncontrollable rage.  He was hungry and he was tired and he wanted his bed and he was not taking one more step away from the only home he had ever known.  He wanted his friends and his family and his toys and his blankets.  He did not want leftover bread from the morning and a bedroll in front of the fire.  He did not want to walk anymore.

“Thranduil!” he could tell by his nana’s voice that she was surprised and not happy with him but he did not care.  His nana tried to take his hand and spoke to him in a calm voice.  “I know you are tired, but come.  I will tell you a story while we travel.  Would you like for me to carry you for a bit?”

“No!” he screamed back at her.

Anything said to him was lost to him as Thranduil sat down in the middle of the path, completely unaware of anything around him, and vented his anguish in the only way he knew how.  He screamed.  Each time his nana came closer to try to calm him, Thranduil’s arms flew up, flailing at the air to keep her away as he shook his head. 

Thranduil thought he heard his name called again, but it did not register at all and the next thing he new he found himself grabbed from behind and lifted into a pair of strong arms.  Thranduil tried to break free, struggling with all his might to free his arms and kicking his legs while screaming his anger at the world.  He twisted and turned in his struggling but only found himself held tighter.  A familiar voice was speaking to him telling him to stop, but it was only when he finally realized that all of his fighting was not helping that he stopped screaming and, with a sob, stopped his struggles.

It was only after Thranduil stopped struggling and hung limp in the arms gripping him that he realized his ada had come.  He found himself turned in his ada’s arms and held to his chest.  Thranduil did not put his arms around his ada’s neck.  He just leaned into the familiar figure of strength and sobbed until he had no tears left.

Thranduil did not know how long his ada held him without saying anything.  He just stayed still for a little while, then wiped his eyes and sighed as he turned his head and rested his cheek against his ada’s chest.  He found himself lifted up onto a horse and gripped the mane until his ada swung up behind him.

They rode forward to the head of the group of elves moving along the path and relieved the officer who had been leading the way.  Thranduil looked at his ada. He knew he should not have screamed like he did or thrown the snack that his nana had given him.

“I am sorry, ada,” he said quietly when he caught Oropher’s eyes.

He turned back to look at the trail ahead of them.

“I think you need to tell your naneth that you are sorry, ion-nín.”

Thranduil hung his head and nodded.

“Why did you not use your words, Thranduil.  Why would you treat your nana in such a way?”

Thranduil was not sure he could explain it to his ada.

“I… I did not want bread,” he whispered.

He knew if he could see his ada’s face there would be a frown.  He was not supposed to scream.

“Sometimes,” he heard his ada say in a voice that did not sound as if he were as angry as Thranduil thought he would be, “bread is all we have.”

Thranduil knew that bread was all they had.

“I do not think this was because you did not want bread, little one.  Were you thinking about the things that you saw when you and nana were trying to get into the forest?”

Thranduil shook his head.

“Are you afraid?”

Thranduil nodded. 

“It is alright to be afraid ion-nín, but it is not alright to scream and kick at your nana or at me.  If you are afraid, you should try to talk about it instead.  Your nana and I will always try to listen to you and understand what you are feeling.”

Thranduil nodded again, feeling ashamed of screaming like he had.  He did not mean to scream at his nana and he did not want her to be angry or ashamed because he had not behaved the way he should have.

“Sometimes it is hard to say what we are feeling, but it is always better to try than it is to hold it inside until you cannot do anything but scream.”

“I will talk next time, Ada.  I promise.”

“You will also tell your nana that you are sorry for behaving so badly.”

Thranduil nodded and spoke quietly, “I will tell her.”

***

Thranduil stared into the fire.  He was tired but he did not want to go to bed.  Ever since they started traveling away from the only place Thranduil had ever known in his whole entire life, he did not want to sleep.  It was only partly because of having to leave behind all of his toys and things. 

His eyes moved to his grandmother.  Even in the warm glow of the firelight he could tell that she was sad.  He was sad about his grandfather too, but his grandmother was even sadder than he was.  Ada said she might go away.  Thranduil did not want her to go away.  He got up and moved to sit in her lap.  Even though he could tell that his grandmother loved him and was glad to sit with him, he could also tell that she was not happy and that made him sad all over again.  Sighing, he leaned back against her and stared into the fire again, knowing that he would be sent to bed soon. 

Thranduil looked over at his bedroll.  He missed his bed.  He also missed his room.  Frowning, he thought about some of the other things he missed.  He missed playing with all of his friend and laughing with nana and ada coming home and getting to dance around in the Great Hall when the king had celebrations.  Tears began to sting in his eyes again.  He tried to blink them away.  Thranduil was tired of thinking about not getting to have his things with him or all of his friends with him and he was tired of grown-ups who stopped talking when he was around and hushed voices they used when they thought he might be listening.  He was tired of hearing the names of friends and family who he knew he would never see again.  He was tired of walking.  Thranduil did not know how many days they had been walking, or in his case occasionally carried.  He was just tired.

Sniffling a little, but trying desperately not to, he reached up and dragged a sleeve across his eyes before taking a deep breath.  His ada would not cry.  He looked over at his ada.  Thranduil knew that his ada was sad too, but his ada was very good at doing things even though he was sad.  Thranduil decided he was going to do something he wanted to do even though he was sad.  Still staring into the fire, he let out his deep breath and took another before opening his mouth and in a shaky voice began to sing, very softly at first as he struggled to keep his voice from faltering too much.  It was not a great ballad or an ode to a warrior.  It was just a simple song about forest creatures that he used to sing with the other elflings.

He felt his grandmother stir and then heard her warm and soft voice join with his.  Thranduil did not know that his grandmother knew the song about forest creatures, but hearing her singing softly with him gave him the encouragement he needed to sing a little louder.  He felt better as he sang with his grandmother and soon realized that others were joining in as well.  Soon the little forest clearing was filled with the sound of the voices of all the elves traveling with them as they joined in singing about the little creatures of the forest and the songs that each of them sing.  Suddenly Thranduil felt better than he had in several days.  His nana was singing and he could even hear his ada’s strong voice in the chorus of elves.  Thranduil managed a small smile. 

*** tbc ***

A/N:  I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out.  I wish I could offer a real reason and not a flimsy excuse, but I can't.  I was away for a bit, but when I came back instead of working on it I was lazy.  I will try to be better with the next one!  :) 

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Chapter 4: Bows and Arrows

As the early morning light shone down on the encampment, the sleeping inhabitants began to stir to life.  Thranduil rolled over sleepily.  Being woken by the sun was beginning to become normal for him, but it had taken some getting used to at first.  He was used to the natural rhythm of Arda, of course, but when he slept in his old room he just woke up when it was morning, he was never woken up because of the sun shining on him.  Thranduil opened his eyes.  He thought it was kind of nice to sleep outside.  He did not know how much longer they were going to stay at this camp, but he did know that they had been here far longer than any of the other places they had stopped.  It also seemed that they had frequent visitors that Thranduil did not know coming to see his and his friends’ adas. 

Thranduil’s ada had said they were very close to where they would be living and that was very exciting, but today was a very exciting day too.  He crawled from his bedroll and went to where his parents were sleeping.  It had been one of the rare nights that his ada had not spent the entire time being a guard.  Thranduil knew that the other warriors looked up to his ada a lot and called him commander, but lately even some of the other elves who had not been warriors in Menegroth were listening to what his ada had to say.  It made Thranduil feel kind of special to think that his ada was important.  Right now though, both of his parents were still sleeping.

As he looked around, Thranduil realized that it was very early and there were not many other elves up and about.  None of his friends seemed to be awake yet and the only other elves he saw milling about were armed.  Thranduil thought that must mean that they were the guards on duty while everyone else was sleeping.  Going to the far side of the encampment, away from the sleeping elves, he looked again at the object soaking in a tub of water.  Today it would be finished!  His very own bow!  Thranduil had grilled his ada enough to know what was left to be done.  Nana had made the string already, using some of the fibre she was using to make more string for ada’s bow. 

Thranduil did not want to wait until everyone else was awake to use his new bow, but he knew that he was not to touch it yet.  Last night he had spent the entire evening sitting with ada as he shaped the wood and then carved ‘Thranduil’ onto the lower leg.  He smiled and hopped around anxiously waiting for everyone else to start waking up.  When that did not seem to be happening fast enough, he knelt down next to where his parents were sleeping and stared at them.  Maybe, he thought, if I look at them they will wake up.  And so he looked.  He looked hard.  He narrowed his eyes and stared.  He widened his eyes and stared.  He even silently mouthed ‘ada’ and then ‘nana’ but nothing seemed to be working.

It was not fair, he thought, that he should be awake when everyone else was sleeping -  especially when at least two people in particular should be up and making his bow.  Thranduil sat back on his heels and tried not to be too selfish in his thoughts, but he could not help wanting the bow now.  He had been looking forward to it for a long time now and the morning seemed to be passing far too slow for his taste.

He was just about to give up when he found himself seized by strong arms and hoisted up into the air.  Thranduil could not help but squeal as he found himself airborne.  He grinned down at his ada’s smiling face. 

“I was afraid you were never going to wake up!” he cried in his excitement.

“I was waiting for you to stop staring at your naneth and me,” his ada replied.

Thranduil grinned again.

“I was trying to make you want to wake up, ada.  Is it time to finish my bow?”

“Ahhh, so that is it.  The elfling wants his bow.”

Thranduil nodded and his ada chuckled before setting him back on his feet. 

“After breakfast I will show you how to string it and then dry it near the fire, but you will likely not be able to use it until later. You do not want to use it while it is wet or it will have too much bend in the wood.”

Thranduil was disappointed, but he was happy enough to be able to see it finished that he did not complain.  If it was finished now, then he would be able to use it later this afternoon and then he could help hunt. 

***

Thranduil’s excitement was obvious as he grinned from ear to ear and hopped about from foot to foot.

“Can I shoot now, Ada? Please? I understand how now, I can do it myself really I can.”

Thranduil looked up at his ada and tried his best polite look as he forced himself to stop hopping about.  His ada’s smile had gone away a little bit though and Thranduil knew that he was about to be told something serious.

“Thranduil, there is more to shooting a bow than just pulling a string and letting go.  You must hold it properly and you must know what is in the direction you are choosing to shoot.”

“I knoooww, Ada,” came the over-anxious reply.

“No, ion-nin, you do not know because I have not told you or shown you yet.  If you would like to learn, then you will have to listen to me and not think that you already know how when you do not.”

Thranduil did not sigh or stomp his foot even though he wanted to.  He already knew those were never good things to do when he wanted cooperation from his ada. 

“Yes, Ada.  I will listen now.”

Thranduil’s ada nodded.

“Good.  Now, first we will be shooting down the clearing this way and aiming for the target that we made earlier.  Never,” Thranduil found himself unable to avoid looking up at his ada as his chin was tilted up, “never shoot at a living thing.  When you are older and able to use a stronger bow we will go hunting, but for now you are not to shoot at anything other than your target, is that clear?”

Thranduil nodded, “yes, Ada,” he replied.  And he meant it.

Thranduil followed along mimicking his ada as he was shown the proper way to hold his bow and how to stand.  Sometimes he had to have his ada move his feet so he could keep holding his bow properly and sometimes his ada had to move his hands so he could stand properly.  It was alright though because eventually he got it and could stand the right way all by himself.  That was when it got exciting and he finally got an arrow. 

Once again Thranduil followed along copying the movements of his ada.  He nocked the arrow the way he was shown, drew back as far as he could and, with a sideways glance at his ada, let go of the string.  Thranduil frowned.  His arrow did not hit the centre of the target.  His arrow did not even hit the target!  It began a glorious sail through the air and then… rammed right into the ground in front of the target.  Thranduil looked at his ada to make sure he was not laughing.  Luckily for him, he was not.

“It takes practice, little one.  Here, let me help you again.”

Thranduil nodded as his ada knelt beside him and helped him set up another shot.  Then he showed him how to aim down the shaft of the arrow.  His next arrow flew truer and hit the outer corner of the target. Thranduil looked at his ada and grinned.

“I am getting better already!”

His ada chuckled and ruffled his hair, causing Thranduil to make a face.

“You are, indeed.  Try a few more.”

Thranduil shot all of his arrows and then gathered them up and shot them all again.   By the end of the afternoon he was able to hit the target easily.  When it was time to get ready for supper, he thought he was getting pretty good.  Maybe tomorrow he would hit the centre of the target.  After supper it would be too dark to practice.

When it started to get dark Thranduil was not allowed away from his ada or nana, but that was alright with him even if he did not admit it all the time.  Sometimes he was glad for sleeping in a tent because that meant that he was not by himself and if someone came in the middle of the night his ada would be right there, besides, sometimes Thranduil had nightmares and he did not want to seem little by running into his parent’s bedroom in the night.  As long as he knew they were sleeping right next to him, he felt safe enough to go back to sleep.  Ada would make sure he was safe

***

Thranduil stepped into the campsite followed by several other elflings close to his age.  They had been hunting with the bigger elflings.  Well, not really hunting, but it was fun to pretend.  Sometimes the bigger elflings yelled at them to go somewhere else to play, but they were not really playing, they were stalking rabbits too and as long as they stayed close enough to the camp that they could be seen they were allowed to go.  Thranduil did not think they were going to find many rabbits that close, but sometimes they were lucky and saw some.  Not that Thranduil nor any of his friends could actually hunt with their bows, but it was still fun to stalk the rabbits - especially when the older elflings did not see them and he and his friends did.

The older elflings had made them leave while they were tracking rabbit.  Thranduil did not think that was fair.  The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to show them that they were not so much better than he and his friends were.  Eldiren and Arrust agreed with Thranduil that just because Gildin and his friends were older that did not mean that they were better hunters.  In fact, to them it only meant that they did not get told that they were too little to worry about hunting or that they would have to wait until they were older.

Eldiren, Arrust and Thranduil all ran to their respective camping areas to retrieve their bows and a few arrows before meeting back up at the edge of the trail where they had just emerged.  They were going to get a rabbit.  They may not be big enough to follow a deer or other large game, but they could get a rabbit.  Eldiren was the last to make it back.

“My ada says I am not allowed to shoot at anything that is living because I will only hurt them,” he said as he joined the other two.

“Mine said that too,” said Thranduil, “but I am going to show him that I am not too small to be a hunter and one day I will be a warrior.

Arrust nodded, “My naneth said that neither me nor my bow is strong enough to hunt with and that when I am older I will get a real bow and have lessons in how to shoot.”

Thranduil scowled.  “I already know how to shoot.  My ada has been showing me and I hit the target most of the time and I have hit the centre!”

Thranduil himself was not sure why hunting was so important to him at this particular moment, but he was driven in his desire to do it.  He looked at his bow and then at his friends. 

“We have to learn to hunt and shoot well so that the next time the bad elves come, we will not have to be scared.  Besides, Gildin is not better than we are and we will prove it.”

With that, he led the small band of young hunters into the forest, remembering to stay close enough to the encampment that they could see the fire.

Chapter 5 - Home

The little group of elfling hunters stood in a circle staring at the ground. Arrust put his toe out and touched the limp body where the arrow had pierced it and blood had seeped out into a small pool. Thranduil looked at the arrow. It was not one that he and his parents had made, and he was glad of it. Even as he had the thought, however, he felt a wave of shame and guilt flood over him as he watched the limp body of the rabbit move with Arrust's toe. It was not supposed to happen this way, and really it had been an accident because they already decided that they did not want to hunt.

A sudden noise behind them startled all three elflings and they spun around in unison. A group of armed elves Thranduil did not recognize emerged from the trees. Their clothing was not like that worn by the warriors who served with his ada, that much he did know.

"What is this?" One of the elves with a brown cloak asked as he stepped forward. "Have our cave-dwelling kin become so desperate that they now send their elflings out to hunt for their food?"

"Leave them be," said another elf as he walked to Thranduil and his friends.

This one was dressed slightly differently and seemed older than the first elf who had spoken. He was wearing a green cloak and everyone listened to him and backed away when he spoke. Thranduil thought he must be in charge.

"Do you not think they have been through enough without us adding to it?"

"Please excuse me, Captain. I did not mean.."

The elf in the green cloak nodded and held up his hand, making the first elf stop talking. He looked at Thranduil and his friends and then at the rabbit.

"It is a great responsibility taking a life, young ones. In our lands, hunting is reserved for those much older and wiser than three young elflings."

The look of horror on all the faces of the elflings gave them away.

"I believe your parents will be surprised to see you three have become providers so young."

"We did not mean to," Thranduil's small voice said shakily. "We already decided not to and then E... it just happened."

He looked up at the elf, not sure what to do. He did not want to touch the rabbit and he felt a sadness inside that he could not explain. Everytime he looked at the rabbit, he could not help but think about the wounded and the dead that he saw as he and his nana were running to escape from the bad elves. He did not want to be a bad elf, but was certain that somehow this made him one.

With a grim expression, the elf they called Captain picked up the rabbit and pulled the arrow from the side of its throat. He looked at the three elflings for a moment and then handed it to Eldiren. Thranduil and Arrust both looked at him too. Eldiren did not look happy to be holding the rabbit, but Thranduil thought that since it was his arrow that killed it he should be the one to carry it.

"Come," the captain said to Thranduil and his friends, "we were just on our way to your camp to speak with your elders. We will walk you back."

"Who are you?" Arrust asked before taking a couple of small steps but not fully falling into line.

"We are warriors of this realm and we have been sent to welcome you to our lands. My name is Malagar and I am the officer of this patrol."

Malagar started walking toward their camp and Thranduil followed along with his friends. The other elves from the patrol followed behind them. As soon as they stepped into the clearing there was a lot of running around. All of the grownups were rushing over and talking to Malagar.

Thranduil found himself holding his nana's hand and being walked away from the patrol quickly. He noticed that his friends were being led off by their nanas as well and Eldiren's was looking very unhappy. Thranduil thought it looked like she was scolding Eldiren right in front of everyone too. He would not like it if he were Eldiren.

Looking back toward Malagar and his warriors, Thranduil waved to him to thank him. He was not entirely sure what he was thanking him for but it seemed like the thing to do. Malagar smiled at him and waved back, but Thranduil's ada was there and started talking to Malagar so the warrior could not call out goodbye. Secretly, Thranduil hoped he wanted to. He thought Malagar looked like a good warrior.

"What did you think you were doing?"

The sudden sound of his nana's angry voice brought him out of his thoughts of Malagar.

"Nana," Thranduil said, looking up at his mother a bit surprised by her stern tone, "I did not shoot any arrows."

"You left here with your bow when you know you were not to. Not only that, but you left intending to go hunting even though your father and I have both made it clear that you are not to be firing your bow unless you have an adult with you. You disobeyed, Thranduil. I am very disappointed in you. You could easily have hurt yourself... or someone else. How would you feel now if you had hurt one of your friends? It is bad enough that a rabbit was needlessly killed, but it very easily could have been one of you. We do not kill things for fun. We only take what we need. You should know that already."

Thranduil looked at the ground. He did not think he would have hurt anyone. He could hit the target when he concentrated very hard. He was not going to point that out to his nana, though.

"Well, I think that you will not be needing these for a very long time, child."

Thranduil looked up just in time to see his nana reaching for his bow. With a gasp, he tried to pull it away but his nana was faster and took his bow then his quiver, and set them up where he could not get them. With a fallen expression, Thranduil's eyes went from his precious bow to his nana's face then fell to the ground again. He knew that his ada was going to be angry too and the thought of both of them being angry with him again made him sad. To Thranduil, it seemed that ever since they left home nothing good had happened.

"Nana," he said so quietly it was nearly a whisper, "we wanted to prove that we were hunters like the older elflings."

"But you are not. Nor is it for you to decide when you are, or when we require hunters to go out for that matter."

Thranduil was startled to hear his ada's voice behind him and spun around. The expression on his ada's face told him everything he needed to know.

"We do not have time for this discussion right now, Thranduil. You will sit on your bed until your naneth and I return. Do not leave that spot for any reason, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ada," Thranduil whispered as he went to his bed and sat down.

He looked up and watched his ada and nana speaking quietly with each other and then leave. With a sigh he sat with his elbows propped on his knees and waited. Several minutes seemed like a lifetime, and soon Thranduil was fidgetting. After drawing in the dirt with his finger, he laid down and stared at the tops of the trees just overhead.

At first his thoughts were on his bow, but they soon strayed to the rabbit. The rabbit was dead. It bled and it had squealed when Eldiren's arrow hit it. The sound was not a sound Thranduil wanted to ever hear again. He thought it sounded just as bad as when the bad elves killed people back where he used to live.

He found himself wondering again if he was as bad as those elves. His nana had said that he had killed needlessly. Did she think he was bad? Maybe she thought he liked what he did. A tear slid down Thranduil's face as he thought about it and with a small cry of dismay he rolled onto his side, curling up into a ball. If his nana thought he was bad, then he knew his ada thought even worse. He wondered how long he had been on his bed and decided it had been hours. It felt like hours. Even though he was not hungry, Thranduil thought that it was likely past supper time now and his parents were so unhappy that he had turned out to be a killer of rabbits that they did not want to come back.

"Thranduil."

Thranduil opened his eyes with a sniffle. His ada was sitting on a treestump near where he was laying. Thranduil did not say anything. He just looked. He thought looking was enough. His ada probably did not want to hear him say anything anyway.

"Come here."

Taking a ragged breath, Thranduil obediently got to his knees and then stood up. He wiped his eyes and walked to where his ada was sitting. As much as he tried not to cry, he could not help it. He was crying by the time he stood before his ada. He wondered if he was going to be told how bad he was again. He could not look at his ada.

"Are you crying," his ada asked as he lifted his chin, "because you know that your nana and I are not happy with you, or because you lost your bow."

Thranduil's tears came harder now. He did not even try to stop them.

"Be-because I am a bad elf and you know that now."

Before Thranduil knew what had happened he found himself in his father's arms in a tight embrace.

"You are not a bad elf, Thranduil," his father said to him softly. "You did wrong and you know that you did, but you will learn from this and I trust that you will not be repeating it."

Thranduil nodded despite his misery and pressed his face to his father's chest. "I am s-sorry that the rab-bit got killed, ada. I tr-tried to stop him but it was t-too late."

"I think the next time you are tempted to disobey you will remember this and realize why you need to listen."

"I will, Ada. I promise."

As much as Thranduil hoped it would be finished then, it was not and that realization dawned on him very quickly as his father lifted his chin and addressed him firmly.

"I will take you at your word, ion-nin, and I trust you to keep it, but you will be spending the next two weeks helping your naneth instead of playing with your friends. After that time I will decide if you are ready to begin using your bow again and if you are ready to play with your friends again."

Before Thranduil could protest he was silenced.

"I do not need to remind you that it is unwise to try to argue with me, I am sure."

Thranduil shook his head and his ada nodded.

"I thought not."

Thranduil dragged his sleeve across his eyes and sniffed again. Maybe it would not be so bad. They had stayed in this camp longer than any other, which meant that nana had been spending time doing more than just talking with the other ladies. He would not like to spend two weeks listening to all the naneths sitting around and talking about his friends.

"There is one other thing."

Thranduil looked up, meeting his father's eyes.

"We will be staying here," his ada said as he smiled, "but that means that I will be gone for several days so you will need to be especially good for your mother."

"Staying?" Thranduil's excitement was barely contained, "will we live near Malagar?"

"We will likely be settling in or near his village. It is late, little one, and you need to get yourself ready for bed. We will talk about this more when I return."

"Yes, ada."

Thranduil went with his nana to get changed and was soon laying in his bed again thinking about the days to come. He wondered what it would be like to live here in this new place. Ada had said that Malagar lived in a village. That must mean they lived outside and not under ground like they did where they lived before. Thranduil curled up on his side as he grew more tired and decided that he quite liked living outside. He liked seeing the trees and seeing the stars. It was going to be fun living in their new home.