Chapter 17: Loyalties--Part Three

“I think we have reached the end of the tunnel!” Galithil exclaimed, pointing in front of him. He dashed a few feet forward until the light of their small lamp fully illuminated what seemed to be the end of the wide passage full of spider webs and scurrying creatures. A solid wall.

Maidhien ran after Galithil, if only to stay nearer the light that he held. Since they had gone deep enough into the passage to lose sight of the open door at its other end, Maidhien had grown increasingly nervous.

“This is the end of the passage then,” she said. “We should go back. Before that door closes on us.” Her voice was pleading.

Galithil did not seem to hear her. He was running his hand slowly across the back wall of the passage. “Here!” he said, patting the wall and turning to grin at her. “This is another door, like the other.”

Maidhien made an anxious face. “Galithil, maybe we should not disturb that door,” she began.

But Galithil had already laid his palm flat against the stone. “Open,” he whispered, while nearly bouncing in place with excitement. Like the first door they had found, this one groaned as it scraped open enough for Galithil to poke his head through it.

“Galithil! You do not know where it goes!,” Maidhien whispered. “What if it goes somewhere that Thranduil might see us sneaking around? You did call this a secret door! I think Thranduil would be angry if he saw us.”

Galithil did not immediately pull his head back through the door. When he did, he was scowling. “Do not call uncle Thranduil by his name. No one does that. It is not respectful,” he said while still staring through the opening.

Maidhien rolled her eyes. “What do you want me to call him if not his name? And how is the way I address him going to matter if he catches us sneaking around?”

Galithil turned to look at her. “Most people say ‘the king’ or at least ‘lord Thranduil’ when they talk about him. And he is not going to catch us. This doorway is blocked. He could not see us standing here any better than we can see what is behind this door. Look,” he said stepping back and pulling the stone door open slightly wider.

Like the door Galithil and his cousins had found leading into the throne room, a tapestry covered this door. But when Galithil tried to push past it, he felt a solid wooden object behind it. When he tried to push on that object, it did not budge.

Maidhien took a cautious step forward and peered through the door. Convinced that no one could possibly see the open door, much less her, she stood with her hands on her hips, studying the tapestry.

“I do not think whatever is blocking it goes all the way to the floor,” she said pointing at the threshold. “There is light coming from the other side on the bottom.”

The disappointed expression fled Galithil’s face to be replaced again by an excited grin. He dove to the floor and lifted up the fringes of the tapestry. The feet and back of a large cabinet appeared. Galithil’s grin broadened as he flattened himself on the floor to squeeze under it.

“Are you mad?” Maidhien exclaimed, seizing his foot.

Galithil laughed and shook loose of her grip. “Legolas sometimes says I am,” he joked. “I just want to see where in the stronghold this is. I bet it is somewhere in the living quarters. There are no pieces of furniture this big in the storage areas that I have ever seen.”

With that he began to slide under the cabinet. Soft footsteps on the stone floor made him freeze.

“We have enough resources to purchase food supplies if need be,” Aradunnon's muffled voice said.

Galithil’s breath caught in his throat and he heard Maidhien stifle a little squeak before beginning to pull insistently on the hem of his tunic. Galithil ignored her. They were somewhere inside the living quarters given the evidence provided by his father’s presence. He flattened himself as much as possible and squirmed further forward until he could see the legs of two figures standing in the center of the room.

“But no one to purchase them from,” Thranduil’s voice replied. “Do you not recall Celonhael telling us that the Men lost their spring grain crop?”

“He also said that the Men are being supplied from Gondor,” Aradunnon shot back. “We could buy from them as well,” he argued.

Peeking from underneath the cabinet, Galithil saw his father hold up his hand when Thranduil’s eyes widened and he drew a sharp breath to speak.

“I am well aware that such purchases are much more expensive,” Aradunnon continued, forestalling the King’s argument without giving him an opportunity to voice it, “but Celonhael assured me that we could make them for a short period.”

Galithil saw Thranduil’s fists clench.

“Did he, now?” the King asked, his voice rising. “And when did it become Celonhael’s place to assure you of anything? Or your place to seek his counsel?”

Aradunnon loosed a frustrated sigh and shook his head dismissively. “My place and yours is not the issue here. Do not think to distract me, for you will not succeed. The warriors in the south need more rations. We are discussing what we must do to sustain that patrol.”

Thranduil turned away from Aradunnon. “How many elves from that patrol did we lose this winter, Commander? How many died protecting the unpopulated land south of the mountains?” he asked with a tired voice.

“Four,” Aradunnon replied swiftly.

Galithil gasped softly in response to that statement. He and his cousins were never allowed to hear any discussions related to the defense of the realm.

“And their deaths served to protect the villages just north of the mountains,” Aradunnon concluded firmly.

Thranduil sighed and turned back to face his brother. “We want the same thing, Aradunnon,” he said, with a carefully measured tone, “The safety of those villagers. I simply do not think we can keep them safe forever. They will have to move north eventually. We cannot continue to sacrifice warriors because these elves are too stubborn to face the truth.”

Galithil heard Maidhien make a soft harrumph in response to that comment. He waved his hand at her to signal for silence. The occupants of the room were too engrossed in their argument to hear anything.

“I am one of those stubborn villagers, my lord,” Aradunnon said coldly. “I do not care to lose my home in the south. I would have preferred to raise my sons there and I will fight to protect the forest there,” he said, pounding his fist against his open hand for emphasis. “And I can protect it. The only immediate problem is that the patrols in the south do not have enough warriors to hunt for food while keeping the orcs at bay since the winter was so harsh and supplies so short. I have suggested several ways you could address that.”

“And as I indicated when we discussed this during afternoon council, none of your suggestions are satisfactory, Aradunnon. We do not have enough supplies to feed them, nor will I agree to take more warriors from the other borders to send south to hunt for the patrol. There is no point in pursuing this discussion further. The warriors will have to pull back until conditions improve,” Thranduil responded. His tone made it clear he was at the end of his patience.

“As I said in council, I am not pulling the patrols further north,” Aradunnon said forcefully, his fists clenched. “That would allow the orcs to press directly against the southern-most villages—my own village being one of them. That is too close and I will not allow it.”

“If they cannot supply themselves with game while holding back the orcs, it does not appear that they are doing much good where they are. The best solution is to withdraw from the territory south of the mountains for now. Once the spring weather brings better food supplies, we can retake that territory…”

“When have we ever retaken territory lost to the orcs?” Aradunnon asked angrily. “I surrendered the Narrows, the old capital, the area south of the Forest Road and finally the Forest Road itself. The orcs will not push me one league further north. I swear it on my life, not one league further while I draw breath. Whether you support me or not.”

For a long moment, the only sound Galithil heard was his father’s angry breathing.

“What, precisely, does that mean, lord Aradunnon?” Thranduil finally asked with a soft voice. Something about it made Galithil’s breath catch in his throat.

“The warriors I have chosen are villagers from the south that are currently rotated out of that patrol,” Aradunnon responded without pause. “They are anxious to return to it. I will take them south with or without your approval and command them personally. Perhaps my presence in the south will serve to better coordinate the distribution of supplies there.”

“Tell me, Aradunnon, will you take the supplies from the stores against my orders as well? Must I set one of your warriors to guard them? Whose orders will he obey when you challenge him for access to the supplies, yours or mine?”

Aradunnon narrowed his eyes. “I will not steal from the stores if you are not willing to send food south. But I command the patrols, my lord, unless you intend to relieve me of that duty. As long as it is mine, I will hold the orcs south of the mountains. Think about what you are suggesting I do! If I withdraw the patrols, the orcs will surely move into the mountains and I will never drive them from such a position of strength. Then, instead of serving as our shield against the dangers in the south, the mountains will become a haven for the orcs to launch attacks against our villages. I will prevent that or die trying.” He looked evenly at Thranduil. “I do not wish to disobey my king, but I feel strongly enough about this decision that I will.”

Galithil stared at his father with wide eyes. To his surprise, Aradunnon grinned.

“I was an infant at the time, but I seem to recall that there was once a decision that you felt strongly enough about to lead our warriors into battle against adar’s expressed orders.”

Galithil’s mouth fell open and his gaze darted to Thranduil.

The King pressed his lips together and he glared at his brother. After a moment, he nodded once. “Indeed there was. And what you may not remember, since you were an infant at the time, is that when I returned to the forest, adar relieved me of my command of the patrols, forbade me to leave the capital for an entire yen, and then required me to work my way through the ranks in the patrols when he allowed me to return to them,” he replied evenly, pausing to draw Aradunnon’s attention “I now understand that was a very lenient response—a much more lenient response than I will be inclined to make,” he added sternly. Then he sighed. “But since I know you well enough to know that no threat will dissuade you, I will concede this much: tomorrow we will discuss with Lindomiel what portion of the supplies she feels we could safely send south. Her decision will be the final one and you will accept it.” Thranduil held up his hand and continued, ignoring the flare of stubborn defiance in Aradunnon’s eyes. “And I will not oppose you if you send some, not all, of the warriors you named south, if you still think that is the best course of action after we determine the amount of supplies we can send.” He paused and looked at his brother with concern. “But if you will ignore your king’s order to remain in the capital, perhaps you will be moved by your brother’s words: you have a young son here, Aradunnon, who needs his father’s guidance. You have very capable captains in the south. Let them do their duty while you do yours.”

Aradunnon returned Thranduil’s gaze evenly. “I am doing my duty—I am ensuring my son will still have a home when he becomes an adult.”

Thranduil sighed. “And I am doing mine—I am ensuring that all our people, not just the southern villages, have a home. We are not threatened only in the south, Aradunnon. And evil creatures are not our only enemies. Your duty is to support me.”

Aradunnon pulled a face and drew a breath to answer, but his response was interrupted by the appearance of two more sets of feet—these two partially hidden by embroidered gowns. Galithil strained to see Lindomiel and Amoneth coming into the room. When they stopped near their husbands, they wore confused frowns.

“Hallion said he thought you were speaking to Legolas and Galithil in here,” Lindomiel said, glancing around the room and then between her husband and his brother.

Thranduil shook his head. “No, we were continuing our discussion from the afternoon council.”

Lindomiel and Amoneth looked at each other. “So the children are not in here with you?” Amoneth asked.

“Certainly not,” Thranduil replied. “That was a discussion I would not have liked anyone to hear, much less Legolas and Galithil,” he said dryly. Then he registered the ladies’ concerned expressions. “Is something wrong?”

Lindomiel shook her head uncertainly. “Since you appeared to be having a private discussion in the sitting room, the family gathered in the dining room to await dinner. Everyone but you, Legolas and Galithil are there. When Amoneth and I came up from the kitchen, Hallion told us the four of you were here.”

“The children are probably still on the Green,” Aradunnon began.

But Lindomiel and Amoneth both shook their heads. “Eirienil is in the dining room with Golwon and Isteth. Like Hallion, she thought her cousins must be in here. And it is much later than they normally stay on the Green. It is time for dinner. I was coming to call everyone into the dining room,” Lindomiel said.

Thranduil and Aradunnon frowned.

“I suppose we will have to send someone to find them,” Thranduil said with a sigh. “Let us go see if Eirienil might have any idea which one of their friend’s cottages we will find them in.”

Galithil tensely watched four pairs of feet leave the family sitting room before he dared slide back under the cabinet and through the secret door. When he stood, Maidhien was looking at him with wide eyes.

Galithil snatched up the lamp from the floor and listened for a moment before pushing the door closed with a scraping thud. Its seam disappeared as the door slid into place. Galithil faced Maidhien. “If we run all the way back, I will still be late and dirty, but at least they will not have had to look for me.”

Maidhien nodded and they ran full tilt down the secret passage.

*~*~*

“Good boy! Good puppy,” Legolas praised. He pet the little black dog enthusiastically before reaching to pick up the stick that it had dropped at his feet. He threw it again to the opposite side of the yard and the pack of puppies took off after it, yipping excitedly.

“They will certainly be good retrievers,” Tulus commented as he set down the brush he had used to groom the last of the horses the warriors had returned to the barnyard. As Legolas nodded, Tulus led the horse into the barn to its stall. When he exited the barn, the puppies were already back at Legolas’s feet, jumping on him since he had not acknowledged the stick lying on the ground. Tulus followed Legolas’s gaze towards the river. Anastor and Noruil were at the riverbank, heading towards the stones where Galithil and Maidhien had crossed earlier.

Legolas started out of the yard.

Tulus took several steps forward to follow him. “Where are you going, Legolas? Not after them, surely?”

Legolas looked back at Tulus. “Galithil is across the river. With Maidhien. Probably playing in the caves. I saw them cross it earlier. I am sure Anastor and Noruil are going to look for them there and they will start a fight with Galithil if they see him with Maidhien. Then he will be in even more trouble.”

One side of Tulus’s mouth turned down. “They will start a fight with you if they see you alone. It is not my place to tell you what to do, Legolas, but I do not think you should follow them.”

Legolas turned back to the river, where Anastor and Noruil had just disappeared into the underbrush on its opposite bank. “I will not let them see me, but I want to be there to stop the fight if they find Maidhien and Galithil. Hopefully I can find Galithil before they do. I know which caves he likes most.”

Tulus’s brows drew together sharply. “And how do you intend to stop a fight between them?” he asked, but Legolas, climbing over the stone wall that encircled the barn yard, ignored him. Tulus scowled and turned back to the barn, hurriedly moving to secure the horses. Once they were seen to, he would follow Legolas. He would be a much better deterrent to fighting.

*~*~*

The family was seated around the dining room table talking quietly when Thranduil, Aradunnon and the ladies entered the room. Everyone stood. Hallion and Dolgailon both raised their eyebrows.

“Galithil’s absence I understand,” Dolgailon said quietly, looking sympathetically at his father’s annoyed expression. “But what has Legolas done to deserve missing dinner?” he asked.

“We were not speaking with the children,” Thranduil replied, gesturing for everyone to sit. He stopped by Eirienil’s chair. The little elleth looked surprised at her uncle’s words. “Apparently they have forgotten about dinner. Can you tell us where you left them this afternoon, Eirienil, so we can send someone to fetch them?”

Eirienil glanced down the table at Hallion and Dolgailon, who also both seemed concerned by that news. Then she looked up at her father before answering Thranduil.

“I did not play with them this afternoon,” she began. “That is, we were playing…” She looked at Dolgailon. “But apparently Dolgailon saw Galithil…do something. Galithil said Legolas told on him for doing it and they had an argument and everyone went off to play in different places. I think Legolas went to the Green, but I do not know where Galithil and Maidhien went. They just headed into the forest.”

Thranduil and Aradunnon looked at Dolgailon, their expressions clearly demanding an explanation. Dolgailon straightened automatically. “I told Galithil he must confess to you what he did, adar. That is what Hallion and I assumed was causing the…discussion in the sitting room.” Dolgailon shook his head. “It never occurred to me that Galithil would try to escape speaking to you by skipping dinner. I apologize, adar. I will go find him.” Dolgailon stood, but before he could move away from the table, Eirienil spoke.

“Galithil did not intend to hide from uncle Aradunnon. He said he was going to have to speak to him before dinner,” she said, obviously feeling a little sorry for her cousin and wanting to defend him as much as she could.

“And nothing about this explains where Legolas is,” Hallion said. “I do not believe he would have missed dinner to keep Galithil company under these circumstances. He did not approve at all of what Galithil did.”

Thranduil raised his eyebrows. “You also know about this?” he asked.

Hallion nodded. “Yes, my lord. Legolas spoke to me about it last night. He was not sure what to do. And I spoke to Dolgailon about what Legolas told me.”

“And what is ‘it’ that my son has done?” Aradunnon demanded.

“He shot Maidhien’s bow on the practice range,” Dolgailon replied quietly.

Aradunnon’s mouth fell open in angry astonishment, but Hallion held up his hand. “There is really quite a bit more to it than that,” he interrupted, “but the matter at hand is to locate the children. Like Eirienil and Dolgailon, I do not believe it makes sense that they are hiding.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “If they stormed off into the forest thoughtlessly, the most likely explanation for their absence is that they are lost. We need to look for them.”

Lindomiel and Amoneth looked at Hallion with wide eyes in response to that suggestion. Thranduil looked at him as well, with a carefully neutral expression.

“Hallion is correct,” he said calmly, after a long moment. “We need to concentrate on finding them. Hallion, please inform Conuiön that they are missing and have him meet me at the Gates. Aradunnon, tell Dollion and have him order the Palace Guard to look for them. I am going to speak to the Gate Guards—Eirienil said Legolas headed to the Green. If that is so, they should have seen him. And they may have seen Galithil at some point as well.”

“We are coming with you, Thranduil,” Lindomiel said and Amoneth nodded.

Thranduil looked at his wife a moment, considering, and then obviously decided that was a battle he did not want to fight. “Perhaps you should go to Celonhael’s cottage. They may be there, or Berior might know where they have gone. At any rate, I am sure Celonhael will wish to help us look for them. You go with them Dolgailon and we will all meet at the Gates.”

*~*~*

Sitting in the grass in front of the little cottage he shared with his son, Tulus watched the path that approached his yard as he twisted hairs into a new bowstring. He could hear several people approaching hurriedly. Given that the only two people who normally visited him, Dolwon and Dannenion, were seated next to him separating and rubbing oil on more hairs to add to the bowstring, he could not imagine who it might be on the path. Glílavan, on the other hand, stood with a smile, and Tulus relaxed slightly. The approaching people could very well be his son’s fellow warriors coming to invite him to the Green.

When the king and most of his family came into view, Glílavan’s smile was replaced by a look of concern that was mirrored on Tulus’s face as he stood. Dolwon and Dannenion sighed heavily and got slowly to their feet as Tulus and Glílavan bowed to Thranduil.

“Tulus, I understand from the Gate Guards that Legolas spent the late afternoon in the barnyard?” Thranduil began with no preamble whatsoever.

Tulus’s brow furrowed slightly, but he nodded. “Yes, my lord. He was playing with the puppies and then training them,” he responded, looking at the tense faces surrounding him. His brows drew closer together. “Is something wrong?” he added, looking at Lindomiel, who was either making little effort to conceal her concern or was quite unsuccessful in her efforts if she were.

“Did you see where Legolas went when he left the barnyard?” Lindomiel asked in response.

“And did you see Galithil at all today?” Amoneth added.

Tulus looked quickly between the two ladies. “I did. Galithil and Maidhien crossed the river just as Legolas came to barnyard and Legolas followed them when…after he had played with the puppies for a while…” he glanced at Dolwon and Dannenion and sighed softly. “He followed them when Anastor and Noruil also crossed the river. He was afraid they and Galithil might fight after what happened yesterday since he was with Maidhien again.”

Tulus’s words caused a storm.

“They crossed the river?” Thranduil and Aradunnon both exclaimed in unison.

“There will not be any fights that my son causes,” Dannenion said taking a step forward.

“Why would they cross the river?” Lindomiel asked, her voice even more concerned than before.

“Did you see them come back across?” Amoneth asked. Then her hand flew to her mouth. “What if they fell in?” she whispered. Lindomiel looked at her with open alarm.

Conuiön’s voice cut over them all. “They did not fall into the river. The Gate Guards may ignore members of the family crossing the river…”

“Apparently they did not even see them because they did not mention seeing them cross…” Aradunnon said angrily.

“…but they would not miss Legolas and Galithil falling in or being pulled right by them downstream,” he finished curtly, with a brief glare at Aradunnon. Then turned to Tulus with an expression that brought the former guard to attention automatically. “How long ago did they go across and how long since you left the barn?”

“Galithil and Maidhien crossed just as the Palace Guard began to change shift and Legolas crossed less than an hour ago, as I was closing up the barn.” Tulus paused and glanced at Thranduil. “After I secured the barn, I followed Legolas across. I also thought a fight was fairly likely and I did not think Legolas alone could stop it. But by the time I went across, I could not find any of the children. I assumed Legolas had found Galithil and they had gone home without me seeing them—perhaps they were leaving as I was searching for them.”

“Did you look in any of the caves back there?” Arthiel asked.

Everyone looked at her, most of the adults' eyebrows rose questioningly, but Dolgailon and Glílavan’s expressions quickly filled with concern.

Arthiel shrugged in response to her husband’s reaction. “Well that is what children go back there to do, play in the caves. That is what we always did back there, Dolgailon, and we always lost track of the time since the caves are so dark,” she added, not understanding the growing horror on her husband’s face.

“What?” Conuiön demanded sharply, looking at Dolgailon. But Dolgailon had turned to Glílavan.

“Did you set a guard on the course you set up back there?” he asked.

Glílavan shook his head slightly. “I grew up in the old capital…the mountain that holds the stronghold is supposed to be off limits to everyone but warriors…I did not know children played back there,” he stammered. Then he straightened and looked at Dolgailon squarely. “I did not set a guard, captain. I am sorry.”

“Set a guard on what?” Conuiön asked with clipped tones, pulling Dolgailon to face him. Thranduil and Aradunnon also stepped closer to him, their expressions demanding an answer.

“A training course we are about to put the Fourth Years through,” Dolgailon answered. “Traps.” He grimaced when his mother gasped.

“In these caves Arthiel mentioned?” Lindomiel asked.

Dolgailon nodded.

“Well that explains where they are then,” Thranduil said calmly, though his posture was tense. “They probably sprang one of the traps. Aradunnon and I will go get them, Lindomiel. You and Amoneth take the rest of the family back to dinner. We will join you shortly.”

Everyone stood silently for a moment watching Lindomiel. She and Amoneth stared at Thranduil and then turned on their heels and marched in the direction of the river. “I am not going back to the stronghold. I am going to find my son,” she threw over her shoulder.

Thranduil frowned and turned quickly to Dolgailon fixing him with a serious look. “What sort of traps and how dangerous?” he demanded.

“The sort orcs set,” Dolgailon answered swiftly. “I have not inspected them yet, but I did order that this course be as realistic as could be made without causing serious injury.”

Conuiön's eyes widened and he started after Lindomiel, who was already nearly to the river. “She will no better recognize such a trap than those children will. Dolgailon, go get whoever set the traps and come find us,” he ordered.

Glílavan and Dolgailon followed immediately.