Beastly || Legolas

ten

Legolas found his father in the halls of starlight. A series of circled rooms with walls of curved wood and pillars holding up the ceiling. Small pools of water dotted the floor, reflecting down the night sky that shone between the open patches in the ceiling. Thranduil was standing by one of the largest pools, the stars shining on the deep blue water around his silver robes as the King gazed down into their depth. Legolas hesitated as he approached. He stoped a few feet away and awaited for the king to acknowledge his presence. For a short time the king remained silent and the echoes of the celebration taking place through the city were the only noise. After a while, he spoke up. 

"How are our new prisoners?"  The king turned and Legolas saw the cold blue eyes he had inherited. 

"They are still loud and obnoxious". The dwarves had been shouting insults as he left. The only cell that had been silent had been the one belonging the Skin-changer. He had been curled up like a child. At the memory, the elf opened his mouth to speak then closed it again. Thraundil's eyes caught the action and he waved a hand. 

"What do you wish to say Legolas? Speak".

"Their guide", Legolas began slowly. "He is half elf"-

"That does not give him the right to roam through our lands. His punishment is to be the same as his friend's", Thranduil interrupted with a swish of his robes. The starlight glinting off his crown of branches and the blonde of his hair as he turned his gaze back to the water. Legolas wondered sometimes if his father was thinking of his mother when he stared like that into the night. There was something about his gaze that always seemed to be sad. 

"He is half elf, and a skin-changer". Legolas clarified. "I believed the skin-changers to be extinct and only belong to the pages of books". 

Thranduil looked up again with undisguised curiosity. "They are", he stated. "Only two remain and they live about a day's ride from our forest to the west. He must be the cat beast that likes to explore our lands". 

"How come I was never aware of this?" Legolas could feel frustration on his tongue but he bit it back. His father knew of the cat that had roped their lands. He had known that this cat was more than a mere beast. The elf prince could feel anger bubbling but he reined in control of it. Looking back, it was clear that the cat beast had been more than an animal. Too smart and those eyes, far too intelligent. It had been a shock to see those eyes in the face of a man and suddenly, the openness he had allowed himself to show around the cat had begun to feel like a sham. The cat had been a man, a man who knew him but Legolas did not know in return. It felt unbalanced and almost dishonest. 

"Why should you need to know of this?" Thranduil replied with slight confusion. "Skin-changers are nothing much more than the beasts they change into. Their kind was wiped out by orcs over three thousand years ago. The continuing existence of the survivors does not concern me". His tone was dismissive. 

"He speaks, not our language but he still speaks. He admired the beauty of our halls and fought with more skill with a sword than I have seen before. How can he be a beast when he shows such soul?" The words poured from his mouth before he could stop them. The silence that followed had the king's eyes on him. For a second, Legolas felt like a child again as his father analysed him with a unreadable expression. 

"Don't grow fond of the beast, Legolas", Thranduil spoke, tone a warning. "He may pass for a person but there is still an animal under his skin". 

For a second Legolas wanted to say that the 'beast' had saved his life. Had never harmed him. But he could from the expression on the king's face that it would only make it worse. Instead he nodded and Thranduil relaxed slightly. "I shall take my leave", he inclined his head and turned on his heel to leave.