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"Ada?" Legolas said.

Thranduil turned to look at him. "Yes, little leaf?"

"Is it true you give a speech on the third night of Tarnin Austa?"

Thranduil nodded.

"And is it true you gave a speech as the Prince when Oropher ruled after he delivered his when you were my age?"

Thranduil nodded again. Legolas drew in a deep breath. "Then I would like to give a speech tonight to."

Thranduil put down his teacup and knelt beside Legolas. "I am not asking you or ordering you to address the whole of Mirkwood, ion nin. Because I did it does not mean you are under any obligation to do so as well. We lived vastly different childhoods and—"

"Forgive me for interrupting," Legolas said. "But I want to do this because I-I feel it is my duty."

"It is not your duty, Legolas, and I do not want to see you suffer."

Legolas squirmed. "I feel as if I am a terrible Prince to Mirkwood and that I am . . . weak. I know you will say I should not do this for I have nothing to prove but please may I have your blessing to do it?"

Thranduil picked a strand of hair off Legolas's cheek and looked him in the eyes. "You may. But understand why you want this before you do so."

"I will. May I go now and write my speech?"

Thranduil gave a nod and watched his son run out of the room. He picked up his teacup and walked to the window of the living room to look out. Dusk was swiftly coming.

An hour later Thranduil, Legolas, Elrond, the twins, Glorfindel, Harune, and Landion trod a lantern-lit path into the forest. Glowing paper lanterns hung from the trees, lighting up the forest. As Thranduil neared the open fields in Mirkwood, the sound of laughter and meat crackling over a blazing fire could be heard over night crickets chirping from the ditches.

Two twisted oak trees holding up the sky framed a doorway between them, the path twisting to end at the grass of the glade. The field was packed with elves glowing in the light of the dozen fires. Cool starlight offset the red flames.

The laughter and roar of hundreds of people talking died down at Thranduil's entrance. Legolas almost jumped as a blast of trumpets sounded. Thranduil gestured for Legolas to follow him to the head of the field, where a platform had been erected of boards and lit with dozens of candles pudding wax around the edges of the wood.

"Do not burn your robe," Thranduil said out of the corner of his mouth as he ascended the stairs to the platform, careful of the candles level with his sweeping mantle.

"People of Mirkwood," Thranduil said. "We are gathered here yet again on another warm summer night to thank the forest for harboring us. Our ancestors gave their lives; watered this soil with blood, to ensure their descendants would have a home. We have fought in wars and mourned the dead. We have dug graves for our loved ones and planted flowers with tears. I know what it is to know loss. You were all here when Ailunai died. You all saw the sun die for me and you saw it rise again years later when I found my son.

"We are not a monarchy. I am not merely a king to you and none of you are simple servants and commoners in my eyes. We are all living beings. And here in this realm, we are all family, if not in blood then in spirit. When there is room for kindness and an open heart, there is room for all.

"In this kingdom all of you are essential. If you had not been there to save a child you do not know or help a woman you have never met, this kingdom would be a lot smaller and tied in knots of hate rather then freed from feelings of tenderness.

"For this I thank all of you, and I am honored to be your guiding light in the darkness. But I would not burn without all of you to light me."

Thranduil took a bow to the deafening burst of applause. As it died down minutes later, Thranduil said, "And now a few words from Prince Legolas."

Legolas felt dozens of curious eyes fall on him as he took Thranduil's place. His father put a hand on his shoulder as he stepped down to the grass and joined Glorfindel. The balrog slayer folded his arms.

"Do you think he can do it?"

"I think the effort alone is commendable," Thranduil replied.

"I know what it is like to be truly alone," Legolas said. "People gathered where I lived before . . . with humans . . . but it was the rich who enjoyed the warmth of the castle while the poor starved outside in the cold. No one cared where I lived before. And those who did care cared in fear.

"I had never had a home before I came here. I was afraid at first of what it would be like to be loved; I was afraid of what having a real family would be like. I was a broken acorn still half closed and it was not easy to heal and open in a healthy way. But I could not have done it without all of you. Like ada—King Thranduil said, we are all family here.

"I would not have healed or finally emerged bruised from the palace if I had not felt safe here. I remember every person who helped me find my way home and who let me stay with them until it stopped raining. Even though I have not met all of you, we are not strangers.

"You make this home to me. I do not have see hungry children because nowhere here are there orphans crawling through the mud. I do not have to think about old memories of horror because the sunshine you make in the forest keeps them away.

"I have seen ada—King Thranduil struggle with paperwork and it sometimes comes between me and him. But I know he does not ever struggle alone because you are all here to help me. You see what the people where I lived before never saw: That a king is a king but is also an elf who has a family and needs time to be with his family. My father treats his nation with dignity and kindness because he also treats his family the same way. And I had never seen anything like that before until I came here.

"Thank you for giving me a home. And thank you, ada, for loving me even when I do drive you mad."

Thranduil hastily wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes as Legolas bounded to hug him. A crash of applause broke out around him as he whispered down Legolas's ear, "I am very proud of you."

Legolas looked at him critically. "Because I said something you liked?"

"I am proud because you spoke from your heart," Thranduil said. "Now come, the music is starting and it is time to eat!"

Legolas squeezed his way into a horde of elflings sitting on a log near the fire with his plate of shredded meat and sat to eat, the smell of smoking deer wafting in the air. The sweet hum of musical instruments sounded as the bards took their places on the dais.

Legolas chewed at his food and twisted to watch as the elves around him split into three groups: people who were content to drink wine and talk, women ready to dance, and men ready to move.

The bards struck the first chords of their tune and the stomp of feet against the ground mingled with the tinkle of jewelry and the whirling of skirts. Legolas spied his father and Glorfindel amidst a pool of women and listened as the tune of the singing elves rose into the night.

"Lift your arms up to the sky

Singing oh I am free

My heart is soaring on the breeze

Swirling through the leaves

My heart is on fire as I search for you

Midsummer's celebration is winked upon

Star by star.

A dozen joyous voices

Screaming into the night

Home is where the heart is.

Lift your arms up to the sky

Singing oh I am free

I will join in the royal stampede

Share in the laughter

Fire drives the cold away

Crickets are in the branches

Sun will rise on sleeping glade

We danced until sunrise

Drowsy elflings stumbled away

Home is where the heart is.

Lift your arms up to the sky

Singing oh I am free

Turn to face the dawn

Bow down to the night

The forest is here always

Home is where the heart is."

Legolas looked up as Thranduil broke out of the crowd to grab his hand.

"Finished eating?" he asked.

"Yes, but—"

"Come and dance with me. Just for a little while."

From the edge of the crowd with a goblet of white wine in his hands, Elrond caught glimpses of father and son swinging among the crowd of moving elves. He saw Glorfindel pass dozens of times, each time with a different woman as the bards played reels and tangos. He put down his cup and went to find his sons.

"Celebrian is not here to enjoy the night with me," Elrond said, as the jaunty music died down to a softer tone and wives swayed in the embrace of their husbands, "But I would love to dance with you."

Elladan and Elrohir sat down on the damp grass as Harune grinned behind them. "We must catch our breaths first, Elrond. We have been with Harune and a dozen other children since the party started."

Elrond took another glass of wine as an elf handed it to him and leaned back against a tree. "I will wait."

He lifted his cup to his lips and thought of Celebrian. A tear sprang into his eyes as he blew a kiss to the wind, hoping it would reach her. He missed her and wondered how his daughter fared a journey away in Rivendell. He felt a brief flash of anger, almost blaming the twins for separating their family and causing this . . . rift.

Jerked from his thoughts by a crash of cymbals and Thranduil's arm on his wrist, Elrond looked up.

"Come join the men," Thranduil invited. "We have come to the center of our night."

Elrond shook his head, unable to think of dancing without Celebrian to enjoy it with him. Thranduil shrugged and swept away to join the men. The elves in the field had split into two halves with every woman facing the men. The flirty notes from the bards' drums and rattles began the dance.

Dozens of bright color and gold flashed in the firelight as the woman teased and taunted, out of reach of their advancing counterparts. Thranduil began the first song, joined by those behind him as the elves danced in circles.

"Oh, child of trees

Come and walk with me

The world is waiting to see you smile.

Nothing could be more joyous to me

Then your feet whirling by beside mine.

The sun gave its blessings

The moon danced with you

The stars came out to shine.

Oh, child of trees

Come and walk with me

The world is waiting to see you smile.

The leaves of the forest

Reflect in your eyes

Raindrops pass you by.

Dew crowns your hair

Silver your robes

Your steps are light beside mine.

Oh, child of trees

Come and walk with me

The world is waiting to see you smile."

The woman returned with their own song, their eyes shining in the night as they shook their skirts and bangles. They tossed their heads and turned their shoulders, lips smiling.

"Oh, son of fire

Come and dance with me

The world is waiting to see you flame.

The heat of your soul washes across me

The sun never stopped to set.

Oh, son of fire

Come and dance with me

The world is waiting to see you flame.

Long into the night you burn before me

Fueled by energy like mine

The trees know your tune

As do I

All here raise their voices to the night

Joy flows in rivers

Feet pound on the ground.

Oh, son of fire

Come and dance with me

The world is waiting to see you flame!"

Elrond refrained from dancing. He would dance only with his wife, miles away . . . Elladan and Elrohir sat with him, watching and playing with the elflings brought by their parents to enjoy the night. He thought of Celebrian and renewed his promise to love the twins so he could go home to her.

Little did he know how much more he would have to put into his vow.

Later into the night, Legolas and Landion sat on the laps of their parents, drowsy and tired, as Thranduil and Harune recounted tales of their pasts to an admiring and partly drunk audience still full of giggles and humor. As the music started again, Thranduil put him down and left to join the fun.

Legolas yawned and rested his head on the tree trunk behind him. He fell asleep in front of the fire with Glorfindel's cloak over him and the twins, the fire warming his face. The faint sound of music and laughter tickled his dreams until it was gone and Legolas shifted, vaguely aware someone had carried him home to his bed.

The next day at noon Elrond went to find his sons, his mind still full of memories of the night before.

"Come for a walk with me?" Elrond asked.

The twins finished their hot milk and cookies and looked at him as if trying to judge if tree branches would be turned into switches when they were alone in the forest. Elladan looked at his twin before he nodded.

"We have some time before dinner," he said.

Elrond held out his hands with a smile in his eyes, thinking another step had been taken in the right direction and he was closer to showing his sons he loved them. The trio left the palace and delved into the trees. No one spoke but Elladan and Elrohir's eyes roamed ahead into the leaves and branches.

Elladan hopped murky streams with ease, followed by his twin, and stopped when the smell of a swamp became evident. Elrohir wrinkled his nose as he stared at the trees growing around and in the swamp, their trunks slimy with slugs and swamp decay. The leaves of the trees were threaded with black.

"Now we know why no one comes here," he said. "Let us return to the river and take a dip."

Fleas and bugs swarmed in the humid, sticky air trapped under the trees near the swamp. Elladan and Elrohir waved their hands to clear the swarming bugs away, scratching several itchy bites as they retreated back to where Elrond stood on the other side of the stream.

"Not every glade in Mirkwood is a sunny grove," Elladan said, his face splitting into a smile as he quoted a line from an earlier lesson.

"It was called Greenwood the Great when the line was written," Elrohir corrected. "But the essence of it is right."

A low hiss sounded and Elrond whipped around, his boots sinking into the mud of the stream. The branches parted and an orc stepped into the gloomy light, the broken blade in his hand rusted from blood.

"It may not be sunny," he spat, "But, for you, darkness falls. I see the sun rising. My friends and I . . . we are hungry. Young, tender meat we thirst for."

Elrond pushed the twins behind him, his heart in his throat as he drew his sword. He could take one orc but the orc's dozen friends were emerging behind him, breaking off low dead, branches to clear a way for themselves.

"El-Elrond," Elladan quavered as the orcs spread out to ring the three elves.

"Stay where you are," Elrond barked. "And do not move unless I tell you to!"

Elladan clenched his hands at his sides. For a brief moment, he thought about screaming for one of the patrols marching through the wood but dropped the idea as he remembered the patrols would be out of earshot. The swamps were abandoned. And infested with orcs.

"I cannot stand here and do nothing!" Elrohir hissed down his ear. He jumped back as an orc leapt in to stab at Elrond. Elrond worked his way backward through the slippery mud of the stream, the clang of his sword against his opponent's ringing through the trees.

Elladan glanced behind him as the ring closed in on Elrond, tightening around him. A splash sounded as one fell face-first into the muddy stream, blood swirling to mix with the water. Flies gathered on the corpse, buzzing over the sticky black blood.

Elrond whirled around, dragging the twins behind him, to face the orcs approaching from his front. Elladan scrambled to pick the dead orc's sword out of the mud. The weapon was heavy and clumsy, the blade jagged but sharp. Not the perfect weapon but it nothing or that.

"Drop it, Elladan," Elrond snapped. "You will be killed if you attempt to use it."

Elrohir caught up a handful of mud from the stream. He drew his arm back, the days in the archery fields practicing his aim looking like they would pay off.

"Elladan! Elrohir!" Elrond cried in horror. He could not watch his sons die and they surely would if they refused to stay where he could protect them.

"There are too many orcs for you to fight alone, Elrond," Elladan said, voicing the blunt truth. "If we do not help, we will all be killed."

Elrohir flung the mud. The orc is hit dropped his blade and scraped at his eyes to clear away the plaster of dirt. His distraction gave Elladan the opportunity to leap forward, springing off a rock, and plant his sword in the orc's chest. Orc hide was thicker then he suspected and he grunted as he drove the blade home.

The orc fell to his back with a choke. Elladan ducked a another orc cut past his head and rolled out of danger. Two more bodies lay at Elrond's feet.

"Run!" Elrond shouted back to the twins. "You have the chance; take it! I will hold them off."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the longest I have written at 3,259 words!

Thank you for reading; I appreciate the time you take to read My Word and enjoy it. As always, I love reading your thoughts at the close of each chapter!

Forgive me for the cliffhanger . . .

Next Chapter: Who will save the twins?