Chapter Text
"Where is he?!” Exclaimed the King of Mirkwood as he burst through the door of Elrond's private study, giving the half-elf quite a scare.
The day had started off relatively quiet up until Thranduil's abrupt arrival; but now any chance of a peaceful morning seemed thwarted as the servants scattered about like frightened rabbits to avoid their royal visitor's wrath.
"It's wonderful to see you too, old friend." Was the Lord of Rivendell's response to the greeting that never came, and he fought to get his breath back as he all but cowered behind his desk. "I would advise knocking next time though, my dear. I'm not as young as I used to be and I fear excessive shock may be the death of me."
Thranduil visibly softened and he pressed an apologetic kiss to Elrond's white cheek. "Forgive me, mellon nin." His eyes flickered around the study like a cat. "I left as soon as I received your letter. I take it my son has been causing you a world of trouble?"
He was referring to Legolas, whose attention had been fixated on one of the many bookshelves in the study up until his father appeared. Now, he retreated to the corner, his bottom lip curled up behind his teeth like a child that had been caught stealing from the pantry.
He met his father's eyes and gave him a small, albeit hesitant smile. Thranduil's expression remained as cold as stone.
"Ion nin, come here." Was all the elder elf had to say for Legolas's smile to dissolve. He approached the king in three cautious steps, looking up with large brown eyes. "I left you in the care of Elrond with the understanding that you would behave appropriately and responsibly while I attended your cousin's wedding in the south - am I wrong?"
Legolas went pink. "No, Ada."
"Then why, my darling, did I receive a letter four days ago claiming that you and the twins had stolen two mounts from the stables and galloped off into the forest at night to hunt down a clutter of spiders? And then proceeded to trespass into enemy territory to throw stones at goblins and capture a warg pup to keep as a pet? Is any of this true, or has Elrond been at the Lothlórien wine again?"
Legolas's lips twitched awkwardly from side to side. "Actually, he left out the part where I frightened Glorfindel half to death by pretending to be a warg myself."
Thranduil found himself biting the inside of his cheek rather desperately in an effort not to laugh. He was supposed to be angry with the boy after all. "Ion nin, I am beginning to tire of you running off and risking your life for the sake of showing off in front of your friends. Don't you realise how worried I've been?"
Legolas frowned. "Worried? About me? I am old enough to look after myself, Ada, I wish you wouldn't treat me like such a child!"
Reflecting upon this ordeal later, Legolas would be surprised that Thranduil had not taken him over his knee right then and there. He wouldn't have blamed the king, given the way his silver tongue was cutting through layers and layers of patience.
Instead, Thranduil reached out and caught the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, his touch feather-light.
"Yes, worried. It is a father's duty to worry for his uncontrollable son, who takes great pleasure in scaring the life out of him for the sake of a jest." Replied Thranduil calmly. "And I tire of your flippant remarks as well as your disobedience. Do you remember what I said would happen if you got yourself into such trouble in my absence?"
"You said—" Legolas cut himself off and his eyes grew wide.
Elrond cocked one slender brow ever so slightly as he observed father and son, who were desperately trying to stare each other down like two cave trolls before a duel. Despite his outward defiance, Legolas undoubtedly trembled. It seemed that even now, in his 'maturity' (or lack of,) his father's frown was still enough to make his palms sweat and his skin crawl. A single, cool glare was enough to set the young elf on the edge of anticipation of what was to come next.
And now, Thranduil would be giving him a less than brief demonstration of how much he still had to learn about crossing the King of Mirkwood.
This observation from Elrond was interrupted by a nervous scoff from the young elf, who was desperately trying to compose what dignity he had left. "What? Are you going to strike me Ada? You can't be serious!"
Thranduil remained horribly unamused. “That is exactly what I plan to do."
Legolas could see that Elrond had already passed him a chair to place in the centre of the room. "But…you can't—"
"My dear Greenleaf, I think you'll find I can. This is for your own good." Replied the king, shifting to get into a more comfortable position on the chair as he sat and took Legolas gently by the forearm. "No more arguments, child. Let’s get this over with.”
"Ada, this is ridiculous." Legolas whined but he seemed to have come to the realisation that arguing was pointless by now. Reluctantly, he sucked in his chest and drew himself over his father's lap, determined not to satisfy the elder elf by showing a single hint of discomfort - though he did wriggle about in an attempt to get Thranduil's knee out of his gut. The elven-king was far stronger than he looked; despite his age, he still had the build of a soldier and his hand was still capable of turning a bottom red after all those years of sword wielding.
"My apologies, Elrond." Thranduil turned his head to the half-elf who had withdrawn to the corner. "I hope this will not be of any inconvenience to you."
"Not at all." Elrond replied, earning a glare from Legolas that could have frozen beer. “Just pretend I’m not here.”
That was easier said than done.
"Tedious as you may find them, my rules exist for a reason." Began Thranduil’s elegantly controlled voice as he laid down the first smack. "They are there to protect you, to deter you from getting yourself into dangerous situations such as this. What were you thinking? Gallivanting off into the woods like that when you knew it was dangerous, when you knew Elrond specifically forbade you to go there after dark?"
"I'm not a child anymore." Legolas muttered through clenched teeth, his pride already broken, only to be met with another painful smack.
"You certainly act like one!" Thranduil replied with an impatient snap, but he mentally reprimanded himself and paused, calming his impending temper. An elf was never to punish their child in blind anger, even in the most frustrating circumstances. Once he had recovered, he resumed with a voice that was far more tranquil. "And I shall continue to treat you like one until you learn to behave. I can't believe you could be so thoughtless. Not only putting your own life in danger but the lives of the twins as well!"
That struck a chord. Legolas had never really considered what might have happened to the twins. He had selfishly assumed they were more than capable of keeping themselves out of danger, but the more he thought about it, the more he came to realise the severity of the situation. A brief moment of stupidity, or Elladan's clumsiness, could have easily resulted in the loss of his two closest friends. The thought itself was enough to keep his tongue behind his teeth before he could argue back.
As punishment continued, Legolas began to find it increasingly difficult to keep quiet as he felt the blood swelling into both his glowing cheeks, which he could only imagine were turning into a healthy shade of red beneath his leggings. The smacks hurt. They left his bottom feeling hot and sore. And his father's voice rang soundly in his ears, refusing to give him a moment's peace.
"And what if a spider had captured you, hmm?" Thranduil cut into his thoughts once more. "You could have been snared in one of those terrible webs, or worse — you could have been bitten. Spider venom kills slowly; you would have died in agony."
"They wouldn't have captured me." Legolas's voice was barely above a whisper. "I am not such a fool that I would be stupid and careless enough to get myself caught. It is comforting to know that you have such faith in me, Ada!"
"That's it. I've had it with you, my elfling."
"I am not a-" Legolas fell silent as he felt the hem of his tunic ride up his back and suddenly his leggings were pooled around his ankles, his throbbing arse exposed to the cold air. "Ada?"
"Perhaps this will help me get through to you, little one." Thranduil replied firmly, and in the corner of his eye Legolas noticed Elrond place something in his outstretched hand. “I was going to spare you the hairbrush but you just talked yourself right into it."
Exposed and completely helpless, the warm tongues of humiliation finally began to grow on Legolas and he wished he had never allowed his big mouth to get the better of him. The spanking was far worse now that he was bare-bottomed and at the mercy of the brush. The smooth wood beat down mercilessly upon tender flesh, leaving a horrible sting and several dusty marks.
"You claim you are an adult, ion nin," said his father from above, 'and yet you act like anything but. You're still my elfling, still my baby and if anything ever happened to you, it would break my heart to the point of death!"
"Y-yes Ada." Legolas shuddered, his defences slowly beginning to crumble as he succumbed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ada — and Elrond. I'm so sorry."
"You need to start considering the consequences of your actions. Otherwise one day you'll find yourself in peril and you'll have no idea what to do. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ada.” Legolas shuddered in reply, his voice ripe with sobs as he closed his eyes and concentrated on nothing but the pain.
Thranduil’s own eyes lowered to the younger elf laid across his lap. "I will not always be here to protect you, Legolas. I must know that I can trust you to keep yourself out of danger."
In those split seconds, Legolas realised that his father was on his side. Thranduil's rules, his discipline, his lectures on responsibility, everything Legolas had resented until now suddenly made sense. His father had always been on his side and his main priority had only ever been to protect his only child and keep him safe, not to stand in his way. The boy's rebellious spirit suddenly melted into nothing when he realised what a fool he had been. He would be nowhere without his father. Likely dead in the forest as a result of his own arrogant courage.
His eyes rapidly began to spill tears and he dropped his head in submission. "I-I'm sorry Ada, Elrond. I'll never disobey either of you ever again!"
The spanks began to lighten but that failed to cease Legolas's sobs. Thranduil’s voice grew softer. "I love you to the Grey Havens and back Legolas but if putting you over my knee for the rest of your life means you'll pay heed to my rules in the future, then I'll do it."
"Yes Ada." Legolas choked, his spirits completely shattered. "I'm so, so sorry."
The final smack made even the stoic figure of Elrond jerk slightly in his spot and Thranduil set the brush aside. Legolas fell into the final stages of weeping uncontrollably and the king allowed him a moment or two to cry out all his tears, gently rubbing the warm glow on his bottom, before reaching down and tentatively pulling his leggings back up to his waist with care not to cause further pain. Slim fingers caressed the quaking skin of the prince's back a while longer until the weeping fell to a snivelling hush and he carefully brought his son up to cradle in his arms. The tension between them seemed to shatter into pieces.
"I think my work here is done." Said the king, as he rocked back and forth to settle the young elf. "There now, ion nin, shh. It's all over.”
"P-please forgive me." Legolas's voice wavered, face burrowed into the crook of the king's neck, wetting it with a few of his remaining tears. "Please Ada."
"Hush, you're already forgiven, little one. Do not despair."
Once the boy had calmed down, Thranduil craned his head up to look at Elrond, who had slowly drifted closer once the punishment was complete to assist him in comforting the mischievous elf. "Thank you for your patience and hospitality, my friend. I can't imagine what you must think of Mirkwood elves now, after all this."
"Only good things." Replied Elrond, kissing Thranduil between the eyes and leaning down to do the same to Legolas. "You needn't move the chair. My twins are due in here any minute. I'll have Lindir ready the cushions."
"Ada?"
Thranduil glanced at his son, trying hard to ignore the howls that came from Elrond's study as Elladan received the chastisement he so richly deserved with the assistance of his father's hairbrush, “ion nin?”
"You call me your elfling-"
"Yes, I know how you despise that. I'll try not to-"
"No, Ada, you're right. I'm nearly grown but I still have much to learn and there's no shame in asking for guidance in the meantime. I was wondering if perhaps...perhaps I can be your elfling a little while longer?"
Thranduil smiled and Legolas cherished that moment, for the king’s heart still wept for those he had lost and sometimes smiling was the hardest thing for him to do. He rested his head on his father’s shoulder, smiling despite himself as he felt a gentle kiss brush across his brow.
”You’ll always be my elfling, ion nin.” Thranduil’s voice murmured above him, deep, warm and safe. “For as long as I live."
The aura of love and trust that passed between them as they embraced briefly morphed into a mutual grimace, as Elrohir took his turn over his father's knee and yelled to the high heavens.