Legolas's Christmas

A Little Quality Time

Legolas POV

Ada had to make a speech about the Day of Creation, which I didn't really hear. I had found some elflings my age in the crowd that had gathered below father's speaking parapet and we were running around playing Touch. If the person who had the touch touched you, you had it, and you had to touch someone else to get rid of it. I had only gotten the touch one or twice, and was hiding behind a large tree when Ada finished his speech. Everyone in the crowd cheered, and the elleths (elf women) quickly snatched away my playmates to go back to their homes to celebrate. I had the rest of the eve of the Day of Creation to live through, and no one was left besides the guards, who had to do their job, and father, who was too busy right then to play.

When I had asked Ada he said that he had some things to wrap up before he could play, and that I wasn't allowed to come into his chambers until he was finished. I pouted but left, deciding to walk around the gardens. They were beautiful, but I didn't really care; I was bored, and when I was bored I would do anything not to be so. I decided to climb a tree and see if i could think of anything to do up at the top.

When Ada came out of his chambers an hour or so later he found me hanging upside-down from a limb of a large tree, very high in the air. I had thought of nothing to do after climbing all the way to the top and so had resorted to lounging about on the branches, waiting for father to finish.

Ada was very amused with my position and waited patiently for me to get down. I climbed down to a rather low branch and jumped, planning to land safely on the ground. That wasn't what happened though. Right as I passed by father, who was much taller than me, his arms shot out and he caught me right before I could land. He lifted me back up and tossed me gently into the air, and I laughed delightedly at this new game. I came back down and he caught me again, and again threw me back up.

This game went on for some time and through it all I couldn't stop laughing! My giggles made Ada laugh too, and his laughter made me laugh harder, which in turn made him laugh even harder, until Ada had to set me down for fear of dropping me.

When father set me down I immediately took off, running down one of the numerous brick pathways that ran through the elaborate palace gardens. I heard Ada's surprised exclamation, and then the sound of running footsteps. I sent a hurried glance over my shoulder to see that father was right on my tail, his arms outstretched as he tried to grab me. I dodged him and turned down a side path, sprinting as fast as I could. I was far down the path before I realized that I couldn't hear him anymore. I skidded to a stop and looked back the way I came. I didn't see Ada, and the only visible footprints were my own. I started to get worried; had I ran too far? Did father fall and get hurt? Was he angry that I ran away?

I started back along the path, keeping a lookout for any signs of someone having fallen or being hurt. I didn't see any, and before long I was back at the corner I had turned that led into the forest. I went around it, still looking for Ada and concerned as to where he was.

I turned the and screamed as something huge jumped out at me from the shadows. It leaned over me and I fell to the ground, still screaming, until I opened my eyes enough to see what it was. It was Ada! He had waited by the corner, knowing I would come back, and had jumped and scared me!

I stopped screaming and started laughing, as father had the silliest look on his face. He was trying to be scary, but he wasn't very good at it. The result was a truly hilarious face, with squinty eyes and a squashed up nose, and it made me laugh really hard. Ada, after seeing me laughing, began to laugh too, and before long we were both laying on our backs in the dirt laughing until our stomachs hurt. I even got the hiccups!

When we finally stopped we just laid there for a while. I had moved so my head was lying on father's chest and he had his arm wrapped around my small body, and we just stared up at the twilight sky for a while. I felt my eyes begin to grow heavy and I started to yawn, but still trying to stay awake. But I couldn't, and just a few minutes later I drifted off there in Ada's chest, listening to his heartbeat and the familiar night noises of the forest.