The King's Hope

Chapter 19

Thranduil

I've been home for three weeks and they have been the best of my life. I had Legolas's cradle rebuilt and moved into our bedroom for Arthon and Rhovanel and I are finally getting married. There are still those that find this immoral, but I do not care any longer. They can leave for all I care.

The morning is quiet. Arthon has not cried much, he seems to be a happy baby. Legolas was the same in that he almost never cried as a young elf. Rhovanel is still sleeping with her hear resting on my arm. She has been staying up late with Legolas and Tauriel to catch up on their lessons. Both children have dramatically improved these past days, but they still have much to learn if they are to become masters.

I settle back down under the sheets and close my eyes. Today is not a day to criticize my son. Today is a day of celebration and happiness.

"Good morning, melamin," Rhovanel yawns.

"Gi melin (I love you), Rhovanel," I whisper back, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and pressing her back to my chest. Her hair smells of flowers and honey and it is soft and clean. She turns slightly to look at me out of the corner of her eye. She smiles at me and touches her ring.

"Today is the day, is it not?" Rhovanel says, sitting up to check on Arthon.

"It is, melamin." I throw the sheets off and join her by the cradle. Thin golden hair is beginning to grow thicker on his head and his eyes are mirrors of his mother's. It does not appear that he has slept much. "Who is watching Arthon during the ceremony?"

"Tarawen. He already likes her better than most and she does not have a role that makes it impossible to hold a baby. did you want to do the naming ceremony one or two days after the wedding?" she says picking Arthon up.

"Two days. Everyone that is already here is staying a full month. The kitchen has been complaining bitterly for the last two weeks about it," I answer, rubbing her shoulders.

"Thranduil, it's your turn," she says, handing me Arthon as if he just attacked her nose.

"We have nannies that will do this without complaining," I say, taking the smelly baby.

"Legolas did not grow up with a nanny, neither shall Arthon." Rhovanel smiles at me and steps into the bathroom to bathe. Arthon flashes a toothless smile, as if he knows how much I dislike changing his diaper.

"You are going to be just as much trouble as your brother. But probably just as much fun as well. You will grow to be as kind and graceful as Nana and as strong and confident as Ada. You will be the best of us both with guidance from your elder brother, a perfect role-model," I muse, changing the dirty cloth. I drop it into a laundry bin that is changed every day. This room would be quarantined if the waste was not removed so often. "There, now you do not smell like a dwarf's outhouse."

"Ada?" I turn around to Legolas and Tauriel standing in muddy clothes with training swords in hand. "Nana said we had a lesson today." I was unaware of this lesson, never would I have imagined that Rhovanel would teach on our wedding day.

"She is in the bathroom. I will tell her to meet you in the library gardens."

"Actually, she wanted to meet in the forest today, Ada."

"Do you know why?"

"She said we are ready for more advanced maneuvers."

"She will meet you in the gardens first. I do not want you two alone in the forest."

"Yes, Ada," Legolas agrees. He and Tauriel turn and run down the hall, leaving me alone again with Arthon.

"Perhaps you will not be as much trouble as your brother," I sigh. Of course the baby does not respond, though his eyes seem to communicate understanding.

"Thranduil? When is your meeting today?" Rhovanel asks from the bathroom.

"Noon. The ceremony is set to begin an hour after the meeting concludes. That should be time enough for the lesson you planned for today."

"Yes, plenty of time."

"Why would you plan a lesson today? And one in the forest? Are there not enough tasks to be accomplished today?"

"Their lessons are almost over, Thranduil. The children are to the point where they should be able to defend themselves should the need arise. Today I'm testing their ability to think and function under pressure. Do not worry, I'll have five guards and my brother with us. All will be well."

"I still worry. How long will the lesson take? I could join you, watch Legolas and his friend, offer some advice."

"You are always welcome to join Thranduil. Your technique has been slipping lately," Rhovanel teases, stepping out of the bathroom in chestnut brown trousers and a silvery tunic. Uriel carried baby weight for months after Legolas was born, but Rhovanel has not carried the same weight. If Arthon was a completely silent baby, no one would ever guess that Rhovanel had ever been pregnant.

"That maybe true, but we have never competed to see which of us the better warrior. Are you up for a duel?"

"Always. Meet at the waterfall. One hour." Then she left with a her daggers and a smirk. Arthon squirms a bit in my arms before he starts crying. He is probably tired. "It is alright, ion nin. All is well."