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Thranduil sat in his study, staring at the creased parchment in front of him as if he glared at it hard enough the contents would change into something slightly easier for him to swallow. As a rule of thumb he did not much look forward to correspondence with the Master of Imladris as it was. That being said, the missive in from of him had taken him completely by surprise and he was even less impressed by what it contained. Never in all of his centuries did he think that the Noldorin Lord of the Hidden Valley would be writing to inform him of a possible union between their two houses – from the sounds of it, in the not so distant future. To add to the Woodland King’s woes it was one of Elrond’s twin sons to which Legolas seemed to have attached himself. It was not that the Sindar King objected to the relationship between two Elves of the same gender, it was more to do with the fact that, if his youngest son had to bind to one of the Imladrin Elves, he would rather it have been to the youngest of Elrond’s family. Legolas, who was described throughout Eryn Lasgalen as the ‘Sun Star’, deserved no less than the being described as the ‘Evenstar’ of their people, the Elleth whose beauty is said to rival that of Lúthien herself. Surely there would lay a perfect match?
From the rumours that had reached Thranduil, the twins of Elrond had made a name for themselves far and wide – and not a very good name at that. The Woodland King had heard that they were fundamentally jokers by nature. Many messengers since the alliance between the two settlements had been put in place had returned from the Valley with tales of trickery and a resolve to avoid any possible further contact with the duo. It therefore made Thranduil decidedly uneasy to now be informed that one of the Ellon in question may be in a serious, long-term relationship with his son.
To make matters worse for the Sindar, he was not overly impressed that it was Elrond who sent the news of this possible connection between their families. He felt that Legolas had further let him down by not informing him of a serious relationship between him and another Elf. In the Woodland King’s eyes he and Legolas were close enough to talk about important matters such as this. That his son obviously felt differently was a shock in the least. Was he really that unapproachable?
His mind involuntarily cast back to his Kingdom’s previous relationship was Imladris, thanks to his personal feelings concerning its Lord. It was true that, for many centuries in fact, he had blamed Elrond Peredhel for the death of his father and the company of Elves led by the previous King of Eryn Lasgalen. It was entirely possible; therefore, that Legolas felt there was no way that he could approach him with something as delicate as a relationship with the son of an Elf he had very publically blamed for destroying his family and subjects. No, he decided; he could not blame Legolas for avoiding that particular confrontation. It was the Sindar’s pride that had been stung. While it was true that relations between their two people had steadily been improving in recent years that did not mean that Thranduil appreciated his one-time adversary to alight on his son’s life changing news before he himself. It he was being completely honest with himself, this had made him angrier than the relationship itself. It did not matter that Elrond had discovered them unbeknownst while out walking in the gardens, it was simply the fact that Thranduil had not found out first.
There was, however, nothing he could do about that now and he turned his mind towards the rest of the Lord of Imladris’ letter. The Peredhel had gone on to advise him that the younger Elves had realised that their families may not approve of their choice of partner and that they seemed fully prepared to leave together and never see their families again.
At first, Thranduil had scoffed and dismissed it as naïve minds being dramatic and defiant. As he got to the end of the parchment, though, and Elrond described the scene where two lovers clung together and declared that they would rather fade than be parted from each other, Thranduil quickly realised his folly and any anger drained from him as swiftly as a dragonfly darting through the rushes. It no longer mattered if it was just a burst of drama – if he agreed with it or not – Legolas was still his son and, although the Woodland King could not remember the last time he had said it, he loved him dearly. There was no way in all of Arda that he was willing to risk his son’s life. Not to mention that if the twin contributed that much to Legolas’ happiness – and it appeared as though he did – who was Thranduil to strike a sword through the middle of that? At the basis of everything he dearly wanted his son to be happy.
Thranduil broke out of his reverie as the fire in the study slowly dwindled, signalling the lateness of the hour. There was really only one thing he could do, he had decided. Legolas was in Imladris and that was where he needed to be. Elrond had extended an invitation for him to visit the Hidden Valley under the pretence of strengthening the alliance between them. He would leave as soon as preparations could be made for his journey and time away from Eryn Lasgalen.
Thoughts running through his mind of everything he needed to do before his departure, Thranduil kept returning to Elrond’s last suggestion. There were a lot of the Peredhel’s opinions that he did not agree with but, thinking it through, this was one that he could get on board with. It may just be time to get their own back on their children. They would not tell them that they knew of their ‘secret’ relationship, instead letting the pair work themselves into a frenzy until they confessed to everything.
For now, though, Thranduil had a letter to compose and an invitation to graciously accept.