Tbh I didn't proofread this chapter so I'm sorry if there are errors in this chapter. But enjoy nonetheless.

Chapter 3

Mirkwood

The next morning, the pirates woke early to the sound of distant shouting. Legolas was standing outside a room with two big oak doors, listening to his father and aunt arguing about something. Elizabeth walked up to the door, trying to hear their conversation. All she could hear was muffled shouting. "Why can't I hear what they're saying?" She asked, confused. "The doors are enchanted so that nobody can overhear council meetings." Jack drunkenly stumbled over to where they were standing, "is there perhaps a window that isn't impervious to eavesdropping?" He asked. Elizabeth looked at Will, they had never known him to use a word like impervious before, or eavesdropping. The elves were obviously a good influence on him. They all looked to Legolas, who sighed heavily, before leading them down a narrow hallway. The hallway was so small it only allowed them to move single file, they came to an antechamber connected to the room. It looked like the elven equivalent of a broom closet, meaning very glamorous. They filed in as Legolas was removing a grate cover from the ground, he signaled for them to be very quiet. They could hear the king and lady's footsteps, she seemed to be pacing.

Tara was pacing around the chamber as her brother stood quiet in the corner. "You are being emotional Tara." He said. "And you are stone faced as usual." He looked at her, absolutely calm. She hated when he did that, especially with something so grave. "Do you expect me to lash out or start crying?" He was mocking her now, it was true she was an elf, but she was also a wizard, which meant she showed more emotion than regular elves. She has been yelling at him in elvish for several hours already, "do not mock me brother. You cannot truly believe this will have no consequence, or that Legolas will not find out." "And who would tell him?" The kind looked at his sister, knowing the answer, but daring her to say it. She looked down, noticing the movement of shadows behind a grate. She looked back to her brother, "I will not tell him" she said, surprising Thranduil. "But you must. You know he won't forgive you if he doesn't hear it from you." Thranduil knew she was right, what he didn't know was that Legolas had heard all of this. Thranduil moved to the doors, "And what of Will?" She asked him. He looked at her, "I don't know. I suppose you want me to tell him too." "I do, though I do think it would be more complicated to explain. Since not even you know why it happened." He looked at his sister a long while, wondering how she could possibly stay on his side after everything he told her. She had been outraged when he told her the rest of the story, of course. He heard a thump and turned abruptly only to see his sister picking up a goblet from the table. "Sorry, clumsy," she said, walking toward him. He went out of the room, but she lingered long enough to say, "your father will not be happy if he finds you have been spying on us. I suggest you and your friends be found lingering elsewhere in the castle." Then she left the room and her nephew in silence.

Legolas and his friends hastened to a more populated part of the palace. A few minutes later, a guard came for Legolas. He went to meet with his father, determined to hear the truth. When he entered, his father was pacing back and forth, looking tense. "You called for me ada?" He said, trying to disguise the fact he already knew why he was here. "Yes, come sit" he motioned to an empty chair, worry plagued his voice. "What's wrong?" asked Legolas. His father looked at him and sighed, "I haven't been completely honest with you. There's something I must tell you about your mother." Legolas became glassy eyed at the mention of his mother, a woman he could hardly remember as he was so young when she died. Thranduil looked at his son, "there is something else you need to know, about your brother…."

Note: this next part is a flashback

Mirkwood, 2933 years ago

The king entered the healing room where his wife sat, smiling down at the son inside her womb. She was lightly humming their favorite song, smiling warmly. He entered the room, sitting next to her, and stroking her stomach lovingly. He felt a hard kick, "looks like someone's eager to enter the world." She said. He chuckled, she suddenly bucked in pain, "Laeanna, what is it?" He asked, calling for the midwife. "He's coming." She said sucking in a breath. Minutes later, the midwife arrived and the queen was giving birth. "One last push!" She said over the queens screams. The queen gave one last push, torches blowing out and relighting. When the room was quiet, there came a small cry from the queen's feet. "Meet your son, your majesty." Said the nurse, wrapping a little blonde elf in a soft blanket and handing him to the king. The king looked down at his son, his heart filled with so much love. He showed his newborn to his queen, "hello my little leaf" she said smiling, Thranduil mirroring her joy. Suddenly the queen felt another stabbing pain, "ahh, what is happening?" The nurse looked at them both, "the second baby is coming." The king and queen looked at each other surprised, "the second baby?!" They both cried. The queen started to scream again, and then a second child was born. The nurse rapped him just as she did the first child. "It's another boy, my king." But there was a slight curve in her voice. She looked at him, "I guess the craftsmen will have to make another crib." He smiled, then gave his son to the queen and went to the nurse. The queen held her son lovingly, until she noticed the frown on her husband's face. "What's wrong?" He wouldn't look at her, only the baby the nurse held. He turned to her, walking over he kissed her on the forehead. "Thranduil, what is going on? Show me my son?" She tried to sit up, but couldn't. He held her shoulders and forced her back down, she struggled against him harshly. He whispered something elvish into her ear, slowly she settled down and fell asleep, with Legolas sleeping on her chest. He and the nurse walked out of the room, giving the queen time to rest.

When she woke, Legolas was gone and Thranduil was sitting at her side, reading. She looked at him, "since when have you liked reading about myths and legend?" He looked at her, she was smiling amused. He took her hand, "how are you feeling?" She looked at him, "I will feel better when I can hold my sons." She said. He looked away, "you are too weak now, nin mel." She looked at him with a stern stare, "I just unexpectedly gave birth to twins after waddling around, bigger than a dwarf for almost a year. You cannot call me weak until you have given birth." He couldn't help but laugh, when she was determined there was no stopping her. He took her hand, helping her up, and led her out of the room. They entered a large nursery, there was a single crib, made of the finest wood. She walked up to the crib, both her sons laying side by side. She stroked Legolas' cheek, then she ran her fingers through her other sons' curly brown locks. When she pulled a piece of hair aside, she noticed his ears weren't pointed, in fact he didn't look elven at all. She continued smiling and said, "his hair reminds me of the waves in the ocean. Earendil, that's his name." She looked at her children and smiled, "my land and sea." Thranduil didn't expect her to react so calmly, after all, it wasn't everyday an elf gave birth to an elven and human son. Nevertheless, she loved them both and so would he.

4 years later…

Legolas and Earendil were playing in the garden, closely watched by their mother. Thranduil walked up to her side, putting his arm around her waist. "Is there news from Elrond or Galadriel?" She asked, "no. They have no answer for this." He said, gesturing to Earendil, who was now sparring with his brother. He was wearing fake ears over his own, to hide his human side from the rest of the elves. "Does anyone else know about him?" She asked, "nobody but Galadriel, Elrond, and the midwife" he responded. He kissed her on the side of the head and she leaned into his shoulder. They were worried, "what happens when they're older? People have already started to notice Earendil ages faster, he will be fully grown before Legolas can fight." Thranduil had no answer, nothing that would ease her worries. They both knew they would have to watch their son age until he died, because he was human and not immortal. "We should tell your sister," said the queen. The king looked back at his sons, "we shouldn't worry her, it would do no good to tell her she may have to watch another child die. Besides, if she knew she would be searching the world for an answer and wouldn't be protecting them." Laeanna didn't like the idea of lying to her best friend, but he was right. "A war against Gundabad approaches, she'll arrive in a few weeks to watch them while we're gone." She said, he only nodded. Legolas and Earendil had stopped playing when they noticed their father, they ran up to him and hugged his knees. Their mother laughed lightly, leading her sons back into the palace, leaving her husband to his thoughts.

Back in the throne room

After Thranduil had told Legolas the truth, it was eerily silent. His son sat across from him, contemplating everything his father had told him. He didn't even know it was possible for an elf to have a full human child. His father couldn't look at him, for good reason, he had kept this a secret from him for over two thousand years. Finally he broke the silence, "are you going to tell Will?" He saw his father hesitate, there was no easy way to tell him, Thranduil didn't even know how he was transported through time. "I do not know how he came to be in the time he was, or how he could have had parents there, there are simply too many holes I cannot fill."

Legolas knew he was right, and he hated it.

He walked out of the chamber, his father stealing himself for the aftershocks. When he exited the room, Legolas saw his friends, and brother, waiting for him. They looked at him, quietly wondering what his father said to him. He was about to pull them away, when Tara walked in. She stared at him, a look of recognition in her eyes, then she walked over to him. The rest of them silently watched as she stood in front of him, she put her hand on his cheek. She smiled at him, sadness in her eyes, like they had seen the same dark secret and she knew what it had cost him.

She took one last look at him, and walked back into the shadows. Legolas turned to Will, "I need to speak with you alone." He led Will into another hallway leading to a private room. The rest of them stood there, unsure of what to do.

Meanwhile Thranduil had exited the throne room and was wandering the palace. He passed by an old room down the hall from his, the door was unlocked and cracked open. He pushed open the door, gazing at the dust coated furniture. There were two small beds, both made for a child, and in the middle of them was a chair. He remembered when this room had been a nursery for his sons, his wife would sit on the same chair, singing to her two babies as they slept. He could hear their laughs in his head, he went into his room and sat at the desk.

He gazed into the mirror which his wife had used so many times before. He removed a book titled myths and legends from the desk, underneath it his fingers traced over words that had been carved into it. Two letters, 'E' and 'L', were carved in big capital letters. He remembered when he and his wife had walked in to find their sons carving on their mothers favorite desk, a wedding gift from Thranduil. The boys had looked so timid, knowing they were in trouble, but thranduil just laughed. Then he led them to the bed where they laid on his lap, while their mother went to her mirror, occasionally peeking back at them and smiling. He remembered stroking his sons' hair as they fell asleep in his lap, he looked away from the mirror. Everything had been so perfect then, he had his sons and wife, he was happy and a good father. But the moment he knew she was dead, a darkness formed inside of him. He neglected Legolas when he was young, and became bitter and spiteful. And now, with both his sons back, he had the chance for a better life. But he had already ruined that chance by lying to Legolas all those years. He gazed back into the mirror, wishing that for only a minute, he could be back with his wife, only ever worrying about how long Earendil would live.

On the other side of the palace, Legolas had led Will as deep as he dared to go, not wanting anyone to overhear them. As he retold his father's story, Will sat in pensive silence. He wasn't as shocked as Legolas had thought he would be, but Will was, a little more intrigued than shocked, but shocked nonetheless. The blanks were starting to fill in his mind, it made so much more sense now, the feelings he had been getting. How he felt deja vu when entering the forest, how he could know the weak spots of the spiders when he had never fought them before, and most of all, how he could almost understood what Legolas said when he spoke elvish, as if he too knew the language but hadn't spoken it in many years. He suddenly remembered that feeling he had had in the forest for the first time, he heard rushing water and laughter, and a woman's voice, she had said something in elvish. "Tuliel si, Earendil." He could hear a faint voice say, there was a woman smiling at him. She looked almost like his mother, but had longer hair and a beautiful dress on. He was starting to realize that Legolas was staring at him, looking uneasy. To be completely honest, both had always wanted a brother, because they had been lonely after their mothers died. They both needed a subject change, although they had always wanted this, the circumstances of their brotherhood was a little overbearing. Will asked about growing up as a prince, and Legolas in turn asked about being a blacksmith and then a pirate.

This is an extra scene, you don't need to read this.(but it'll lighten any mood)

When Legolas and Will had left, Aragorn decided to finally show their guests to the wine cellar. When they entered, Jack became ecstatic, he started to search the wines, looking for the oldest bottle. The elves there were drinking and paying them no mind, but when Jack took out a bottle from a tall shelf they stood, "Aragorn he cannot have the wine, that is from the king's personal collection." Aragorn looked at jack, already a third done with the bottle, "the king said his guests could have a few bottles from his shelf. I do not think it would harm anyone, he'll be out cold soon." They nodded and went back to their discussion, but then Jack sat next to one of them and said, "would you chaps, being so good at wine consumption, care to join me in a little game?" He showed off two other wines he had chosen from the shelf. They eyed him, then looked at each other and smiled, "humans can never get past a bottle of elvish wine, it will be easy." Said one. They agreed, they put coins on the table, he put a whole sack of gold and grinned. They decided to drink till they dropped, something Jack was particularly skilled at.

Will and Legolas entered the wine cellar nearly a half hour later, after talking about their separate experiences as a pirate and prince. When they entered, Jack was dancing on the table, one of the elves had fallen asleep and the other was sluggishly drinking wine. Will saw Elizabeth and Aragorn laughing in the corner, the elf still awake confused as to how Jack was still standing. Just then, Jack noticed them, "ah, Legylad, I don't see what the fuss is, this is very good… wine…" he started to wobble and they were afraid he would fall, but he just stumbled off the table over to Elizabeth and looked peculiarly at Will and Legolas. "Does Will have a sister I don't know about? I don't remember bootstrap having two kids." Elizabeth looked at him, but he was already back on the table singing a shanty. Will walked over to him and took a swig from a bottle at his feet, Legolas joined him. Aragorn could sense something had happened, as Legolas never drank if he could help it. Elizabeth was sitting with Will, he was still worried she was a dream, Aragorn moved closer to Legolas. They were all still watching Jack on the table, he had started a new song, "we're in a crazy elven land, an' old Jackie's in command." He danced on the table, but eventually asked for some rum and passed out. The rest of them started talking and laughing, Legolas forgetting his worries, and he and Will silently bonding over a secret that only they knew.

Translation:

Tuliel si - come here