The child of grief

This is a story that dropped into my head one evening, scandals do happen in even the best of families and I wanted to explore how the elves would react to a really nasty one. And I also wanted to write something about Thranduils wife, and why she apparently isn't in Mirkwood any more at the time of the Hobbit. I guess this is happening many centuries before the happenings in the hobbit. What would an elven family do if one of their own got into real trouble? This is a bit angsty and you are warned, you'll maybe be in need of handkerchiefs.

I wrote this while being in the grasp of a really nasty cold, snotty, red eyed, coughing and wheezing, sweating and freezing, you know, the whole " My head feels like a lead ball" kind of situation so please forgive me for errors and language bloopers. My head just didnt work as it should, the good thing is that I could write this without having to go to the kitchen for any more tissues since I already had a whole heap of them ready. Yep, the story made me a little bit weepy, but I guess that's normal when you are sick. It does something with your inspiration, I would probably never be able to write something this angsty while being well, but I do not recommend it to other writers, not at all. The day the lord invented the cold bug he must have been in a very bad mood indeed. The way I feel and the general atmosphere of the story may have been a little connected, yes I think so. I felt like crap and so I wrote something really heart wrenchingly sad!

Yep, this story contains character death and of course I do not own the characters except from my own. So here follows the story of why a certain elven king appears to be rather cold and distant and why he is alone with his son. Hope you'll like it.

The Child of grief

The second child of queen Astariel and king Thranduil of Greenwood was born in early spring when their son Legolas had just reached maturity. They had wished for more children ever since he was born but nothing had happened and they had slowly accepted that he would be their only offspring. Then suddenly the queen discovered that she had conceived once more and the entire palace was soon made aware of their new happiness. The queen had a very easy pregnancy and the birth too went well, she did not have to struggle a lot and as the sun rose a new little princess met the world for the first time. She had her father's silvery blond hair and her mother's deep indigo blue eyes. Nobody had seen a more beautiful baby and she was named Ilvanya, because she was perfect.

The royal couple were happier than ever and Legolas was very happy too, he was a big brother at last and he loved his sister very much and spent as much time with her as he could. She grew and became a bit of a handful, her mother and nannies were always busy with the very curios and active toddler and it became apparent that little Ilvanya was a rare child. She did not seem to be afraid of anything, she met everybody with unconditional love and trust and the entire people loved her dearly. Her father was absolutely fascinated by her loving personality, she was so open and caring and he felt whole and complete when he could tuck her in for the night and sing her small lullabies before she went to sleep. This beautiful little girl brought the entire family closer together and nobody could keep a frown on their face when she came running and hugged their legs in a very loving gesture.

She was high and low and everywhere and everybody could see that everything from the horses in the stables to the trees in the gardens loved her just as much as her family. Even the most wild of stallions would act like some gentle old pony when she was near and everybody would agree that this child was blessed by the Valar. She learned fast and her hearty laughter could be heard through the palace rather often. Legolas would teach her how to ride when she got her own pony and he promised that he would teach her how to use a bow too when she got old enough. Ilvanya was always following her older brother when he was around and although her never ending curiosity could be a little challenging at times he never told her to go away. She was such a blessing and it seemed as if she had filled the palace with life and light.