Chapter 44 – Preparation

“She makes a fine figure, does she not, ion nín?”    <My Son>

“I suppose she does,” Legolas muttered, turning away from the window through which he had watched Rhinure ride off. He sank on to the chair next to his father, not really paying attention to the speculative look Thranduil shot at him

“Do you even know who I am talking about?”

“Yes – no. I am sorry, Ada, what was the question again?”

Thranduil laughed, “I have not seen you this distracted since you were first given a bow.” Legolas blushed, not knowing how to answer.

“Why did you not see her off from the courtyard? The view would have been decidedly better than from my window.”

 “I had already said my goodbye, Ada. There was no need for me to watch her leave me.”

“And therefore you stood at my window until you could not see her anymore. Sounds as if your goodbye was not good enough.”

“Are goodbyes ever good?” Legolas turned his blue eyes on his father and Thranduil sighed. It had been so much simpler when Legolas was a child. All Thranduil had to do was pick him up and hold him in his arms tightly, till all sorrow left his son.

“She will return, little one.”

“I know, but that does not make this easier.”

“I would not have thought that separation from Lady Rhinure would have been this difficult to bear.”

“It is not the separation per se which bothers me. I understand and accept that she needs to return. She has her duties and I have mine.”

“Then the problem is?”

“It is her eagerness to leave. I know she did not want to leave me, I could see it in her eyes. But despite this reluctance, there was this strange light in them – a light that told me she was looking forward to going home. This is not her home, Ada, no matter how often I tell myself that. Her home is with the Avari. Just the thought of returning to it made her calmer than I have ever seen her. There was a softness in her that I want to see again – but not if it means that she has to leave me. Does that make me selfish?”

“Of course not, nín ion, but I do think you are slightly envious.”

“I think that is a slight understatement. It is just that I do not understand her sometimes, Ada.”

Thranduil smiled, “That too will come with time. You just have to be patient. She is not the easiest elleth to comprehend.” Legolas emphatic nod made Thranduil chuckle. “If nothing else, you can always blame me for putting you in this awkward position in the first place.”

Legolas’ face brightened immediately. He sat up straighter in his chair, “Ada, if I do say so myself, that is the best idea I have heard out of you for a long time.”

“Impudent pup.”

“I learnt from the best, after all.”

The guards outside Thranduil’s study smiled when they heard the laughter coming from inside. It was not often they heard this rare treat from their King.

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Legolas watched as his father finally stopped laughing and got back to work. He felt a surge of love for the older elf. Not even Legolas could begin to imagine what Thranduil had suffered in his life. Thranduil had lost practically everything that he had loved  – parents, friends, wife, home and people. Despite that he managed to survive – not only survive but thrive. Legolas could often see pain lurking behind those wide old eyes but he could also see such joy in them – a joy for life, for love, which seemed inextinguishable. And running through this generous spirit was the strongest will Legolas had ever seen. A will which had seen a dying Kingdom through dark times – a will which still battled Shadow and would not surrender. It amazed Legolas at the sheer power that was his father. Thranduil needed no Ring of Power to be impressive. Legolas often wondered how he had come to be blessed with such a father.

“If you are done staring at me, Legolas, may I return to work?” Thranduil asked, not looking up from the pile of paper in front of him.

“I love you so much, Ada.”

Thranduil glanced up at his son, surprised and not a little worried at the emotion running through those blue eyes. “What prompted this declaration, dear heart?”

“I just thought you should know.”

Thranduil cleared his throat and said a shade gruffly, “I have always known.”

“Are you not going to tell me that you love me?”

“Do you really need me to repeat such an obvious fact?”

“I want you to.”

Thranduil sighed, there was not much he would deny this little elf, “I love you. You make my life worthwhile. You are the one thing that brings me peace and delight in this world. I love you more than I love myself – which as others will tell you is a lot.”

“Others are wrong, if anything you do not love yourself enough,” Legolas interrupted. Thranduil arched a brow at this statement. “Look at you, Ada, you have been working since the morning. You are going to make yourself ill – if elves could become ill.”

“Well, thank you, nín ion, for volunteering your help.” With that, Thranduil dumped half the pile on his desk in Legolas’ lap.

Legolas shook his head wryly. He talked too much.

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The next time Legolas looked up from the petition he was reading, he found the King staring back at him with those green eyes. Legolas immediately stilled - these were dangerous eyes, meant to handled with great care and respect.

“I have a few questions for you, my Prince.” The mood in the room immediately became sober. Legolas straightened his shoulders and sat at attention, becoming the Lord he so disliked on occasion.

“I will, as always, answer to the best of ability, my King.”

“Would you care to explain why you did not send scouts after the Princess’ Company?”

“I did not see the need to press the issue – the Avari are wary enough as it is. I did not feel it prudent to antagonise them further.”

“You do realise that while the Avari know where and how we live, we do not have similar knowledge about them?” Thranduil asked calmly, wondering if his son had thought through this decision he had made.

“Be that as it may, we are not so blind as Lady Rhinure would have us believe.”

“Explain.”

Legolas stood and bowed to his King before taking out a map from a side desk. “These are the patrolling patterns that the Avari so kindly suggested to us. I am sure that you have seen, as I have I, that there is a particular part of the forest that only the Avari will patrol. It is not so obvious, but it will be rare if any of our patrols approach that area.”

“And?”

“And I postulate that the Avari settlement is in that area.”

“That is a daring proposition to make from proposed patrols.”

“Not so daring – Lady Rhinure must be confident that we will implement these plans since overall they are efficient. Therefore, if her home is not in that area it will soon be. You see, I believe that the Avari are nomadic. That is the only explanation on why our scouts have never stumbled onto their settlement in these long years. The Avari are planning to move into this general area.”

Thranduil inclined his head in agreement, encouraging Legolas to continue. “Furthermore, from what Faelon has been able to gather from Agorion, the Avari are fanatically devoted to their Kin, and as adamant not to let us near their home. Agorion is most studious in not mentioning anything about his life – not even the name of the town. His silence is almost as instructive. Given the Avari distrust of us, it would make sense that this area – where we are not to go – is hiding something important.”

“You are presuming that the Avari patrolling pattern is intense enough to be defensive. This could just be another way to keep the Avari separate from the Wood-elves. Lady Rhinure has not been enthusiastic about prolonged interaction between our people – this could be anther tactic of hers not to let familiarity spring up. The Avari patrol one side and we patrol the other.”

“Yes, that is also a possible explanation and probably true one way or the other. I do not believe that the Avari want any sort of camaraderie with us. However, the regularity of the patrols would suggest that there is something in this area beyond the few villages on the map. It would have been more sensible to abandon the area all together. I believe that the Avari will actually patrol a wider area than these plans suggest which makes it likely that their capital is there.”

“While I do not disagree, I do not think the Princess would ever suggest abandoning any home – be it only Silvan ones.” Legolas looked at Thranduil, not understanding. “The Avari are devoted to their homes, to the Kin – fanatically so. You have seen it as clearly as I. The way they treat Lady Rhinure is proof enough. This devotion is more a general principle than anything – everyone has the right to their homes. The Avari would die to uphold this. If it means saving only a few villages, I believe that Lady Rhinure would commit the resources to prevent the people from being uprooted.”

“That is speculation, my Lord.”

“Speculation augmented by observation. I have seen the Avari fight for our land, and they do it with such fervour that it leads me to believe that they would never consider abandoning anybody – any home. It is a matter of pride for them. Pride which I can understand. I would not do it either. It is part of the reason why I believe they make such good allies – they would die for us.”

“But they will not trust us.”

“No, they will not do that.” Thranduil shook his head, “I do not pretend to understand the why behind their actions. I can tell you that they came into Mirkwood without a home. Perhaps, only those who have had no home of their own can appreciate how important it is – so important that they would be willing to see that no one is ever deprived of it.”

“That is a very noble interpretation of their actions, my Lord.”

“Yes, is it not? However, I also believe that your proposition is absolutely correct. It would be particularly appropriate if Lady Rhinure managed to preserve those villages while all the while keeping us away from her capital. Two birds with one stone – very ingenious.”

“If it is true.”

“And how will we find out if it is true or not, my Prince?”

“We know that the Avari are returning home on this trip. When they return – or more precisely – when Agorion returns, Faelon will keep an eye on our Avari Captain. Even a soil sample will confirm where the Avari have been.”

“You think you will be able to garner their position from a scrap of soil?”

Legolas knew that Thranduil’s incredulity was more of a test than disbelief, “We are Wood-elves, my King. This is our forest. We will know.”

“And how do you propose to get this sample?”

 “Faelon is going to make himself useful and be a good friend by tending Agorion’s horse. It is amazing what even our careful Avari miss – hooves, undersides of saddles, so on.”

“Will Agorion allow it?”

“Faelon has done it before – Agorion seems to trust my lieutenant well enough.”

“Then we are fortunate that such a friendship exists.”

“Are we not, my King?”

“You have done well, Legolas. This might work to our advantage after all.”

“I am pleased that you approve, my Lord.”

Both father and son’s eyes had a frighteningly similar feral expression in their eyes.

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“There is only one thing that worries me about this, my Lord.”

“Only one thing? Such arrogance, princeling.”

Legolas continued as if he had not heard that acerbic remark, “This deduction I have made was not difficult to come by. I am pretty sure Lady Rhinure is aware that Faelon watches Agorion as closely as he watches my lieutenant.”

“Undoubtedly, she is no fool.”

“Then why move the settlement at all. She has to know that eventually we will notice something suspicious about the patterns she has suggested.”

“Maybe she does not realise how closely you watch her.”

“Perhaps, but eventually we would have discovered the abnormality. We might have done it faster than she expects but she has to have known that we would have found out. She is not one to underestimate her opponent. Which leads me to wonder why bother moving at all.”

“As I said, maybe it is a ploy to keep the two races separate.” Thranduil offered, interested to see where his son was going.

“Well, I will know when Rhinure returns. However, something about this situation unsettles me. If she is moving, it leads me to wonder why. Is the Avari strength not great enough to defend their previous location? Or is it that she is expected more trouble and wants us to know where she is, albeit indirectly? Either way, I do not like it.”

Thranduil nodded, he knew that if Legolas was correct it meant that trouble was coming. “There is no way we will know until she returns. And I have never been one for idle speculation. There is enough trouble for us to deal with now without worrying about future ones as well.”

Legolas nodded absentmindedly, not really listening to what Thranduil said. His eyes were still on the map in front of him, as if he could divine some meaning from it.

*~ What do you hide from me, Rhinure? ~*

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