Chapter 12: Taking Leave

Later that evening, Thranduil was returning to the bench in the courtyard where he had earlier encountered Elrond’s sons. Again he was to meet Lindomiel there, this time for their walk. As he approached, he spied Elrond on the bench reading in the fading light and clearly enjoying the cool spring evening air. He smirked and decided to have word with him about his young twin nightmares while he waited for Lindomiel.

“Mae govannen, hir Elrond,” Thranduil said politely.

Elrond looked up with surprise from his book. He and Thranduil had found the ability to work together at this summit but he did not expect the king to engage in social conversation with him. And he was more than a little embarrassed by what his sons had repeated. “Mae govannen, hir Thranduil,” he said with a polite smile.

Thranduil looked down and smiled himself. 'Well, are we not just the picture of courteous manners,’ he thought to himself before turning to the topic he wanted to use to tease his peer. “Did you speak with your sons about evading their nanny and guards?” he began innocently.

Elrond was not to be fooled for a minute. He knew his sons well. His face took on a knowing look immediately. “You found the spider, did you not?”

Thranduil glared now, though it was not the withering look that caused courtiers to cringe. It was more playful. “Indeed. I despise spiders. I told them that.”

Elrond nodded. “That is why they put it on you then. In your pocket?” he asked.

Thranduil nodded. “Yes,” he replied dryly. “And Lindomiel found mice in the picnic basket,” he added.

Elrond frowned, but his eyes were bright with poorly concealed amusement. “I apologize for my sons. And they will come apologize to both you and Lindomiel tomorrow. Right now they are occupied by an essay on the dangers of becoming lost in unfamiliar forests.” He sighed. “Please understand they are still very young and this trip has been a little too exciting for them.”

Thranduil smiled. “I fear I leave tomorrow at dawn, lord Elrond, so I will have to forego their apology. But no harm was done, so it matters not. And I do understand they are young and exuberant. I just thought I would tease you about it a little. After all, I want to be sure you know that I am sufficiently merry.”

Elrond laughed involuntarily at that, looking down. “I will never live that down, will I?”

“Certainly not,” Thranduil replied promptly but with obvious good humor.

Elrond nodded. “I deserve it. We hardly know each other well enough for me to presume, but you should heed my advice just the same. We are finally in times of peace. I speak from experience that marriage is a true blessing.”

“That from a newlywed,” Thranduil observed. “I am happy for you, Elrond.”

Elrond looked at Thranduil with a surprised but pleased expression. “Thank you, Thranduil.” He looked at the king of Greenwood cautiously, trying to weigh whether his apparently friendly attitude was stable enough to push into deeper topics of conversation. He decided to try. “So you depart tomorrow. Did you accomplish what you hoped to here?”

Thranduil appeared to think about that seriously and sat next to Elrond on the bench. “I think so. Amroth and I established some agreements before the summit began and I think the summit itself created some potential benefits for Eryn Galen at least.” He frowned. “Honestly, I think the most interesting aspect of this meeting for me was speaking with you and Cirdan. I knew Amroth and Celeborn perfectly well, of course, but adar welcomed very little contact with any of the other realms.”

Elrond did not care to tread on the dangerous ground of commentary on Oropher, so he turned to a more personal topic. “We do not know each other well, do we?”

“Hardly at all, I fear.”

“Why is that, Thranduil,” Elrond ventured in a soft voice. “We are cousins, though less closely related than you and Celeborn. I remember as a child in Sirion you seemed much less distant than you do now. Did I offend you somehow at some point?”

Thranduil smiled at Elrond sadly. “In Sirion, my lord, when you were a child there with Lady Elwing, we looked upon you as the heir of Elu Thingol and Dior.”

Elrond shook his head. “So it goes back to that. I suppose that by the time we reached Lindon and I began to serve Gil-galad, you could not forgive the course my life had taken. I am descended from the High Kings in the House of Fingolfin. It was natural for me to serve his court.”

Thranduil looked at Elrond evenly. “I am perfectly aware of that, Elrond. I was frankly shocked that you did not take the title of High King of the Noldor. I admit I was relieved as well. I feel compelled to remind you that as Elwing’s descendent, you had equal claim to the title of High King of the Sindar on Dior’s death.”

Elrond laughed ruefully. “It would be a very dark day when you named me your king, Thranduil.”

Thranduil grinned at him. “I fear that three millennia in Eryn Galen has left me quite unwilling to name anyone my king. These Silvan elves have given me quite a preference for my independence.”

“I definitely see that," Elrond replied, also smiling, "but I count this summit as a success because I am leaving it with the hope that the four elven realms will continue to work together throughout this age.”

Thranduil nodded solemnly to that. “Indeed. I have hope for that as well. Persuading my people of the value of it may not always be easy and as Amroth observed, the power of the Enemy is in his ability to divide us, but we do leave here with hope for ourselves.”

Elrond's eyes drifted over to a figure approaching along the path. “And you have hope for unions of another kind, I think.”

Thranduil raised his eyebrows and followed the direction of Elrond’s gaze. His whole countenance softened when he caught sight of Lindomiel and Elrond had trouble suppressing a smirk. “Would you mind excusing me, Lord Elrond?” he said distractedly, standing.

“Not at all, Thranduil. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Thranduil looked back down at Elrond sharply. “Are you planning a trip to Eryn Galen?” he asked with confusion.

Elrond returned his gaze blandly. “I will certainly travel for my cousin’s wedding,” he responded casually.

Thranduil snorted at that. “Then perhaps I should go find a bride,” he replied smirking at Elrond for a moment before turning to meet Lindomiel.

*~*~*

Thranduil  and Lindomiel walked along the paths talking for several hours. Thranduil related to her the stories Celeborn had told him—withholding any unflattering details about Amglaur—and concluded by confessing that if Oropher had been a terror in Menegroth and he had been one in both Menegroth and Sirion, there was a distinct possibility that his own children might be difficult to manage as well. They had a few laughs over that topic of conversation.

Finally, they sat on the bench by the shallow pools near the waterfall. It was dark and Thranduil found himself captivated by the way the glittering moonlight played off Lindomiel’s hair and lit her ivory skin. Sitting on the bench, in the silence of the night, he could hear only the twilight murmurings of the trees and the song that was Lindomiel’s gentle presence. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree behind the bench, feeling its strength and ancient wisdom. The King of Eryn Galen had not felt this in harmony with the world around him since before Dagorlad…before he had come to Eryn Galen…before his family had fled Menegroth. ‘No,’ he thought with a slight frown. ‘I have simply never felt this way before at all.’ He looked over at the elleth sitting next to him and was somewhat startled to see her looking at him intently. He looked down and took her hand from the bench to hold between both of his.

“Your lord father mentioned the night we had dinner that he might bring you and your lady mother to visit Dieneryn this summer. Do you happen to know if he is still thinking of doing that?” he asked softly.

“Thranduil,” she scolded softly with a smile, “Do I really have such an affect on you that I reduce you to such subterfuges as that? You are much more direct, I think. Nana may very well wish to visit the Queen of Eryn Galen, but we both know why ada wants to visit your realm.”

Thranduil snorted softly and shook his head without looking up. “Will he bring you?” he asked simply.

“He will or I will come myself. I am an adult, Thranduil. I make my own choices. And I am very interested to see Eryn Galen.” She paused and then continued in a mischievous voice, “Especially since you refuse to tell me a thing about it.”

He looked at her seriously. “I want you to form your own opinions of Eryn Galen, Lindomiel. It is very different from the Golden Wood. Naturally, I love it. The picture I paint of it may leave you disappointed with the reality. I think it best for you to see it yourself.”

Lindomiel smiled teasingly now. “You realize, of course, that my adar has not shown such restraint. He has painted quite a vivid picture of Eryn Galen as a deep, dark, heavy, ominous elf-eating tangle of treacherous old trees that would plot the demise of an innocent elleth like myself. I fear I will disappear never to be heard from again while I am there.”

Thranduil smiled despite his best effort to look insulted. “I know he has done that and when you see my forest is nothing like that, it will only look more beautiful to you.”

She laughed at that. “Of course, more than the forest, ada says I should fear the elves in it. Chiefly, there is you and that is horrible enough—may the Valar save those poor Silvan elves for look at the king they must endure! But in addition to that, there is your brother and Oropher’s brother and your cousins. The House of Oropher—a pit of orcs to hear my adar tell it. All to be feared as temperamental, overbearing, stern, ferocious monsters.”

Thranduil rolled his eyes and grinned. “Again, I think it is best to allow you to form your own opinions, my lady.”

She laughed now. “You are being quite patient with all my adar’s commentary. I am not joking, you know. He really is telling me this.”

He only smiled at her. “I find very little upsets me in your presence, my lady,” he said placidly.

She burst out laughing. “Oh, you are ridiculous!” she exclaimed, slapping his arm.

His expression only grew brighter. “Perhaps I am. Hallion seems to think so.” He paused. “But I am looking forward to having you as a guest in Eryn Galen, whether I am ridiculous or not.”

She smiled warmly. “I look forward traveling there. It will be quite an adventure, I am sure.”

*~*~*

As the king of Eryn Galen prepared for bed his last night in Lothlorien, he thought about all he had accomplished here. The summit concluded largely to the satisfaction of the participants. Good information was exchanged and agreements were made regarding key points of common interest. The elven lords agreed to meet again after another yén had passed to build upon the progress made at this council. That was good.

Even better was what he had learned about the people here.  It was wonderful to see his cousin Celeborn again. He and Celeborn had always seen fairly eye to eye and been similar in personality. The only thing that had ever stood between them was Galadriel. Thranduil only begrudgingly tolerated her.

Of all the elven leaders it was his dealings with Elrond that interested him the most. Before this council, Thranduil had never had much of an opinion of Elrond one way or another. He knew him very poorly. They had very little contact with each other in Sirion, though Thranduil showed him the respect owed the heir of the High King when they did meet. After Elrond began to serve Gil-galad, their contact was even more sporadic. Oropher had refused, politely but quite undeniably, to serve Gil-galad in any way. The first time Thranduil had any true interaction with Elrond was in the war against Sauron. Thranduil begrudgingly admitted Elrond was one of the least offensive people he had to work with in that war. The Lord of Imladris was a fine warrior and an effective leader. But he was a healer at heart and his compassion for the pain Thranduil felt leading his father’s army for so long while at the same time grieving his loss touched the new king more than he was willing to acknowledge at the time.

During this summit, Thranduil felt the need to establish that he would not be any more willing to be ruled than his father had been. At the same time, he could not deny that he would rather work with Elrond, Amroth and Cirdan than be isolated and Elrond did seem willing to make that easy for him. That surprised and pleased him

Of course in Thranduil’s mind, the most promising discovery from this summit was Lindomiel. Again this development had surprised the king. He had certainly not come to Lothlorien to catch the eye of maidens or be ensnared himself. Nevertheless, Thranduil could not deny that he was completely lost over Lindomiel. But he was still being practical—he was quite serious about the idea of Lindomiel coming to Greenwood and forming her own judgments about it. She was a very young elleth. She had never traveled outside Lothlorien and there was no way to say that she would like what she found in Greenwood. The forests were indeed very different. Thranduil did not care to raise his hopes too far until she came to visit him. Thankfully, she would be there at the end of this season.

******

Mae govannen--Well met.
Hir--Lord
Adar/ada--Father/dad
elleth--female elf