The History of Legolas - From Light to Shadow

Author’s Note: First off, The Lord of the Rings and all associated characters belong to Tolkien and his estate. I am not making any profit off of this story, save the enjoyment I had making it.
Sorry I didin't update regularly as planned. I was busy with the last chapter of this part and I got so into it that I lost track of time. Now it's 1AM. Oops...




A year later, Almwen had grown large with child, and Thranduil had grown needlessly nervous about the health of his wife and the child she carried. The queen had never seen her husband so fussy over her before, and she found it rather annoying that he was always worried about her. It had gotten worse as of late, as Almwen was due any day.

On this particular day, Almwen had struck a deal with her husband to get him to stop fussing over her for a few hours of the day. The queen agreed to be accompanied by a healer throughout the day if Thranduil would go and accomplish some of the day-to-day business in Greenwood that he had let pile up on him.

Though, Almwen was sure that Thranduil was not concentrating on what he should have been doing. Rather, he was most likely worrying about her. However, she was content to have him worrying about her when he was not near her, constantly asking if she felt all right or if she needed anything.

Almwen was extremely grateful for the healer, Gwirith, who had agreed to accompany her for the day. At the present, they were in the garden seeking quiet from the hustle and bustle of the daily activities in the palace.

“Are you feeling well, my lady?” Gwirith asked.

“Yes, I feel fine.” Almwen said happily as she passed the place where Thranduil had erected the monument to Oropher so many years ago. The former king’s sword was still stuck in the ground, though now there were vines curling around it from the years it had been there.

Almwen reached out to touch the hilt of the sword, remembering the day she had seen her husband put it there. When her hand came in contact with the weapon, she felt the child inside her move.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, quickly taking her hand from the sword and placing it on her stomach.

“My lady?” Gwirith asked, putting her hand on the queen’s shoulder.

“Tis nothing,” Almwen said. “I was just surprised when the child moved inside me.” She laughed, looking down at her enlarged midsection.

“The child seems to know what you touched,” Gwirith said, looking at the sword.

“Aye. Either that or he has impeccable timing – Ugh!” Almwen suddenly lurched forward, clutching her abdomen.

“Lady Almwen!” Gwirith cried out, steadying the pregnant elleth so she would not fall forward.

“Impeccable timing, indeed! I believe the child is coming!”

~

Five hours later, Almwen was still in labor, tired and glistening with sweat from pushing. Nestadriel and Gwirith were near and constantly monitoring the queen, and Thranduil was hovering about Almwen’s bed, a nervous wreck. If Almwen had not been in such pain, she would have laughed at her husband’s behavior.

“Thranduil, calm down.” Almwen said, sounding tired. Almost immediately, Thranduil stopped his pacing. The queen chuckled. “I will be fine.” She assured him.

“You make it sound as if staying calm is easy.” Thranduil sighed, smiling at his wife.

“Ah!” Another contraction racked her body and she curled forward, though it did not ease her pain. Thranduil was instantly at her side and holding her hand.

“You need to push, my lady.” Nestadriel said.

Almwen let out a frustrated groan as she forced herself to push. “I can’t do this anymore…” the queen said, closing her eyes.

Thranduil wiped some stray black hairs from her glistening face. “I know you have the strength in you, meleth nín.” He encouraged her. He hated to see his wife in such pain, but he knew there was nothing that could be done about it until the child was born.

“It won’t be long now, Lady Almwen,” Gwirith said after inspecting the child’s progress. “Just a little more and then you can rest.”

With another groan, Almwen began to push again. She squeezed Thranduil’s hand. Thranduil leaned down close to her and kissed her softly, hoping to offer some bit of comfort as she labored on.

“Gwirith, I will deliver the child. Get the blankets ready.” Nestadriel said, preparing for the child’s birth. Gwirith fetched the blankets from a table in the corner of the room and prepared to receive the child.

“Almost there, Lady Almwen.” Nestadriel comforted.

Almwen could hear her heart pounding in her ears as the pain reached its peak. She pushed as hard as she could and when she thought she could push no more, she heard the cry of a child. The pain suddenly became no more than a dull ache to her. She collapsed back onto the pillows in the bed, utterly exhausted.

Thranduil sat on the side of Almwen’s bed and pressed his lips to her sweaty forehead. Nestadriel handed off the newborn child to Gwirith, who began to clean the babe. The king looked over at Gwirith intently, wanting to know how his child fared. Almwen opened her eyes and looked at Nestadriel.

“…Boy, or…girl?” the queen asked, nearly too exhausted to get the entire sentence out.

“A son, my lady. You’ve had a son.” The midwife said.

“A son.” Thranduil breathed.

Almwen sighed and let her head fall onto Thranduil’s chest, happy beyond words. Gwirith, after she had finished cleaning the newborn, came to Almwen’s bedside.

“Would you like to hold him, my lady?” She asked. Almwen turned and looked at the little child that squirmed in the healer’s arms. She could only nod as she looked upon her child. Gwirith handed the newborn boy over to his mother.

Almwen was completely in awe of the little child that she held in her arms. Her son wriggled and let out little gurgling noises as he opened his eyes for the first time. Almwen gasped.

“Blue eyes.” She said. Thranduil smiled proudly as he beheld his black haired, blue-eyed son for the first time. He reached out and touched the child’s face, assuring himself that he was not dreaming. The elfling let out a small high-pitched noise and Thranduil smiled, feeling as though he may burst from happiness.

“We’ll leave you alone for a moment,” Nestadriel said as she and Gwirith turned to exit the room. Thranduil nodded and the two healers left to go get new sheets for Almwen’s bed and a crib for the baby so mother and child could sleep in the same room.

“I did not think it was possible to fall in love twice…” Thranduil murmured as he stroked his son’s thin wisps of black hair.

“Neither did I.” Almwen said, resting her head against her husband’s chest again.

“What shall we name our noble little prince?” The king asked, tickling the child’s nose. The little boy wrinkled his face and Almwen laughed softly.

“Arthion.” She replied, playing off of her husband’s use of the word “noble”. The child in her arms made a delighted squeal and Thranduil laughed.

“Arthion it is then.”

~

I know, this story’s called “The History of Legolas”, and the infamous prince hasn’t even made a showing yet. I promise, he’s coming soon, very soon.