As I am cooking for 100 men, I do not have the ability to mention all you lovely people who offered their comments and votes last chapter. Know that I am grateful for it all; you are stars in my night! 

Harune reached for Onyx's hands. "I do not see anything to forgive, ion nin. But if it will make you feel better, I forgive you. Will you forgive me for not being at your side to help you after Sapphire died?"

Harune's hands held his. Onyx nodded. "Yes. This would have been so much easier if we had helped each other to begin with, would it not?"

Harune chuckled. "We all make mistakes, Onyx. But the important thing is we mend them. And I am glad you came to me."

"You are my father," Onyx said. "How could I not come to you? Even when I was an elfling, it used to take me a couple hours to come to you and confess I had broken something. This time it just took a couple decades."

Harune laughed. "So it did."

"Were you truly not angry when I tattooed myself?"

Harune hugged his son to him. "My first thought was one of concern. I was afraid you had hurt yourself and I was disappointed in myself that I had forced you to do something behind my back. I did not make the same mistake again."

"But were you upset?" Onyx insisted. "I have to know."

"I was not upset," Harune answered. He touched Onyx's cheek and wiped away the teardrops. "I promise."

Onyx moved closer to his father and accepted his embrace. He rested his cheek on Harune's shoulder, feeling fingers combing his hair. "Legolas may say it of Thranduil but you are the best father in Middle Earth."

"Every child will say it of their parents because every child needs someone special to them," Harune said. "I would not be the best father in the world to Helena or Svain."

"No," said Onyx. "But you would be a good one. You are a good person to be with children. I learned from you; sometimes I feel so frustrated with the elflings I teach, I want to smack them."

"And do you?"

"Of course not! You never smacked us. You and nana taught me patience and kindness and I use it every day."

Harune smiled. "I was blessed with the best son in the world. But even if you had been a little wretch, I would not have smacked you."

"I know," Onyx said. He hesitated. "I was not as patient as you. I spanked a child once."

Harune tipped his head. "We all explore options."

"You are too understanding," Onyx growled.

"Well," said Harune. "I am curious. Do you want to tell me about it?"

"One of my first students was a rude, disrespectful, disruptive girl who refused to listen to me and enjoyed making her classmates scream by teasing and taunting them. She would not listen to me and, a few days after her arrival, I took her into a side room for the studio and I spanked her. I regretted it the moment I did it but somehow I could not stop myself in time.

"The next day the girl was twice as worse as the day before. She pinched and sneered and pulled hair, pushed, shoved, and made the day's lesson thoroughly unpleasant."

"I often find that, unless you are willing to spank harder and harder until the behavior is driven away through pain and violence, spanking is useless. It does not inspire connection or trust and it does not build a relationship."

"I learned the hard way," Onyx said. "Anyhow, the second time round I kept the girl after class and instead of punishing her, I talked with her like you used to talk with me and Jade when we fought. I also apologized for spanking her. It turned out she had trouble balancing and, because balance and agility come naturally to elves, she was teased for being clumsy. Her parents were trying to change that and she felt wronged because her mother and father could not accept her for who she was.

"I kept her after class and we worked on a few simple exercises. A year later, her balance had improved and, though she is not as agile as other elves, she was much better. On her last day with me, she forgave me for spanking her and told me her parents had decided she could take the drawing classes she wanted. I saw her several years later and she was—she was happy."

Harune smiled. "I am glad you learned something."

"I learned but I was sorry I hurt a child," Onyx confessed. "I should have followed my instincts instead of harming an innocent life because I had no patience."

"We cannot undo the past," Harune said. "But we can live by healing the present."

"You have so much patience!" Onyx exclaimed. He paused. "Knowing that, you must have truly hated Elrond if he drove you to whip him."

"I would never hit a child," Harune said. "But Elrond is not a child. And seeing him breaking the twins' hearts day by tormenting day broke mine. I thought perhaps if he felt the same pain he inflicted on his sons, he would understand why a different way was better. But the pain only made him angrier and blinder. I only whipped him twice before I realized I too had made a mistake. I apologized. Like you, I learned my lesson and I do not make the same mistake twice."

Onyx let out a sigh and Harune patted his shoulder. "It is late. We should be in bed. Are you sleeping with Landion tonight?"

Onyx grinned. "I do like holding him. But he is your son so the choice should be yours."

"He is your brother," Harune said. "And I do not have the energy to cuddle tonight."

Father and son separated outside the doors to their bedchambers. Landion shifted toward him when Onyx slid into bed beside his brother and murmured as Onyx drew him into a warm embrace.

"Do you want ada instead?" Onyx asked, hearing something about Harune.

Landion yawned and stretched before he mumbled, "No, I like you. Besides, ada will be here always and you will move home again."

"Not until the trees stop falling," Onyx said lightly.

"Why does your home have to be so far away?" Landion sighed.

Onyx moved to reply but Landion was asleep by the time he opened his mouth.

"Maybe home does not have to be so far away," Onyx said aloud. He rested his head on Landion's soft hair. With the emptying of his mind, his eyes drifted shut.

When the sun rose the next dawn, it saw Onyx late to the breakfast table. Knowing Thranduil looked toward a busy day, Harune was about to begin eating without his son when Onyx rushed into the room.

Landion twisted to look at him and his eyes widened. "Onyx, you are in armor."

"I used to be a part of the Royal Guard," Onyx said as he slid into his seat. "I spoke to Hyrondal and he agreed to give me my old place back."

"Not quite your old place," Harune said.

"Well, no. He has, since I left, trained another elf to Commander but I am sure Talion and I will not run into disagreement."

Legolas held up a hand. "I like Talion. He brought me to the palace when he found me dying at the border six years ago."

"He is a good scout," Onyx said critically.

"And that," said Harune. "Is where you will create a rift between you."

Onyx snatched a third piece of toast and pushed back his chair. "I will be late if I listen to you lecture today, ada!"

"As will I," Thranduil agreed, leaving his seat.

"I am wanted at the healing ward," Elrond said thoughtfully.

"And I am helping Nimrethil take stock of the pantries," Legolas announced.

"And no doubt eating half the inventory," Harune said drily.

Landion trailed after Onyx as his brother dashed from the room. He intercepted him at the intersection with a question. "Will you be out in the forest?"

Onyx turned to look at him and paused. "Yes. Most of Mirkwood's warriors are out in the forest keeping the elves safe. I must join them. It is my duty."

"No!" Landion cried. "I do not want you to go. It is dangerous."

"It is," Onyx agreed. "But I do not intend to die today."

"I cannot lose you," Landion pleaded. "My family is small enough as it is."

Onyx looked into the elfling's frightened eyes and knelt beside him. "Landion, you know I cannot leave elves in danger. My skills are needed."

Landion lowered his eyes. "If you have to choose between your life and someone else's, I know I will lose my brother."

"You are a brave elfling, Landion. You dug out the arrowhead inside you when no one else could because you did not want to leave another elf with your death on their hands. You know why I must go out into Mirkwood."

"I do not like it," Landion muttered.

Onyx touched Landion's cheek. "I promise I will come back to you. I am not a warrior because I obey duty. I am a warrior because it is my calling. The reason I am a good warrior is because I follow my heart, not what my commanding officer demands."

"Well," said a voice, "That is a pity!"

Onyx whirled around in dismay to see Hyrondal standing in the hall with Talion behind him. Landion grinned as Onyx flushed.

"Captain Hyrondal, I did not mean—"

"No one lies to children," Hyrondal said. "You meant what you said."

He looked stern and Onyx cringed until the elf Captain chuckled and patted him on the back. "Onyx, you never disobeyed an order when you served with me; I do not give orders I know they will not be followed. You and Talion are the best warriors I have ever trained because you share the same calling. And you will be working together."

Onyx nodded to Talion, regarding the elf's snapping black eyes with curiosity.

Hyrondal looked to Landion. "I will bring him back to you. I promise."

Landion reached for a hug and Onyx gave it to him, planting a kiss on his brother's forehead before he followed Hyrondal. Landion watched him go with wistful eyes.

Harune put a hand on his shoulder and Landion jumped in surprise. "Ada! I did not hear you."

"He will come back," Harune said. "Onyx knows where his skills lie and he will not betray himself. I know you are worried about him; I am to. But I trust him as well."

Landion remembered his brother's hug. "I . . . guess I trust him as well."

Harune kissed the top of his black head. "Come, ion nin, we have work to do."

Legolas, lingering in the shadows, watched Landion skip after his father. He lowered his eyes, regretting his actions had put so many elves in danger. He looked up as Thranduil appeared behind him.

"Ada," Legolas hesitated. "I do not think I will help Nimrethil today."

Thranduil, though his eyes were hurried, drew in a breath and knelt beside him. "Is something wrong?"

"I feel bad for putting so many lives in danger," Legolas confessed. "I know I have accepted responsibility for my actions but that does not make the consequences easier to bear. Do you—do you have anything of nana's left? Like her clothes?"

"The comb I gave you after your first bath was Ailunai's," Thranduil answered. "But I do have other belongings of hers."

"May I see them?" Legolas asked, his breath catching in his throat at the thought the comb he had treasured so long as ada's first gift to him was also his mother's.

"I have a busy morning ahead of me, little leaf, otherwise I would come with you. At the back of my wardrobe is a locked chest. You will find the key to it under the third slat of my jewelry box. The chest is full of Ailunai's most precious belongings. Open it and see what you find."

Legolas started toward Thranduil's bedchamber with excited footsteps as Thranduil stepped away and then stopped. He tried to imagine opening the chest without ada there to share memories with him and found the picture lonely.

Elladan and Elrohir cannoned to a halt beside him with clipboards in hand. "Are you coming to the pantries with us?"

Legolas thought about the chest. He took the clipboard Elladan offered him. "Yes."

Onyx very nearly dug himself into a hole with Captain Hyrondal! Only the Captain's good humor saved him.

Is Harune too understanding?

Thank you all so much for reading! I love hearing your thoughts.

Next Chapter: Legolas's explores Ailunai's chest.