The smooth song of the elves filled the air as they walked slowly upon the stone path, making hardly any noise except the occasional flutter of their white robes. They chanted an elvish song, dedicated especially to their long lost prince. It echoed on the trees and fireflies filled the air with their yellow glow, illuminating the fair faces of the elves.
In the middle walked Falco, dressed slightly differently than the others. He had insisted on not wearing the light robes, as he did not want his scars to be seen. Instead, he was clad in a green tunic, with a brown cape attached and long black boots that covered the dark trousers up to the knee. His blond hair had been combed back in the fashion of the elves, plaited at the front and loose at the back. His blue eyes shone softly under the hood, the rest of his face hidden in shadow. It was a solemn ceremony, as the king was arriving once more, but this time to find his son awaiting him, lost and thought dead for so many years.
Falco felt uneasy. Not long ago he had discovered that he was a prince, the prince. Shudders ran through his body as he closed his eyes, recalling the sharp pain of the burning metal whips that the orcs had brought down on him, and their monotone voices chanting: "Look at the elf prince, look at the elf prince..." over and over again, while he had been screaming with pain. Falco gulped and continued walking, running a hand down the scar that showed from his forehead to his neck. He was about to meet his father for the fist time, and he didn't know what to do. Would the king be glad? Or disappointed that his son didn't look the slightest bit royal as he remembered?
After a while they came to a small clearing where a fountain stood, the crystal clear water trickling down the sides, glowing in the moonlight. Falco shut his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm down. But instead, his defensive wall came up, hiding all emotions except emptiness. He looked upwards, his face neutral, as he listened to the rustling of leaves from the trees above. The other elves stepped backwards, forming a row behind him and leaving the prince in the centre, standing like a small tree in front of the fountain. The pleasant sound of their song stopped, and they bowed their heads patiently, the glade falling into a deep sadness.
Falco stood still, enjoying the silence. His blue eyes glimmered softly in the moonlight, not moving a muscle as he awaited the return of his father. Time seemed to go on forever, without a sound, not even the song of a bird. Everyone, everything, knew the importance of this moment, and had kept a solemn silence.
After an unknown amount of time, the quietness was broken by the distant sounds of thudding hooves. The king was arriving, they all knew it. The elves took a step back as the sound came even closer, leaving Falco alone in the clearing, not knowing what to say to his father. Should he bow? Yes, that was the best idea. He slowly knelt on the ground as the earth vibrated, showing how close Legolas was. Not daring to look up, Falco stared at the ground, noticing how the hoofbeats stopped suddenly. He was here.
The prince gulped, hiding his face even more behind the hood. He stayed completely still, kneeling on the ground. There was an awkward moment of silence, only interrupted by the trickling of the fountain. Then he heard the king dismount lightly, and slowly walk towards where he was. The even sound of his father's steps on the ground came closer and closer, and Falco shivered slightly, biting his lip as he dipped his head before the king.
The footsteps stopped. He noticed how the elf was towering above him, completely still, gazing down at him. Falco remained kneeling on the floor, not daring to look up at the person who was now inspecting him closely. He shuddered suddenly, and gritted his teeth, his defensive wall thrown down and all the emotions pouring out suddenly. His blue eyes closed as he felt a tear of sorrow run down his pale cheek, and moved his head slightly, all the scars on his body stinging like a thousand needles. Daring to raise his head a bit, he saw Legolas' legs, that moved slightly, walking over to him. Falco felt a hand rest on his head, and shuddered again, another tear slipping down to the floor. It seemed as if the king was about to pull down his hood, when suddenly he heard cries behind them, interrupting the tense moment. Before neither of them could move, an arrow struck Legolas' side, who cried in pain. Falco whipped around, not knowing what to do. Arrows flew out from every corner of the clearing, and they were all disarmed, including the king, who had now bent over, an arrow sticking out of his side. Quickly, the prince reacted, pulling his father out of the way and dragging him behind the fountain, hoping he wasn't dead. Relieved, he discovered that he wasn't, but badly injured. Falco frowned as his hood fell back, but he couldn't bother about it now. They had no weapons, and the king was hurt. Not even glancing at Legolas' face, he ignored everything flatly, his brain working at top speed. There was a way out, a small path that wound its way between the trees. Grabbing hold of his father's arm, Falco dashed that way, dragging the injured king behind him. Luckily, no other arrows hit them as they reached the cover of the trees. He ran blindly a while more, grasping Legolas' arm without looking back. But before long he felt the king breathing heavily behind him, and remembered that he was injured.
Falco stopped, leaning his father against a tree and examining the wound. For some reason, he didn't dare to look at his face, but felt Legolas' gaze boring into him all the time, a small smile spreading on the king's lips. However, Falco quickly pulled his hood up, slightly uncomfortable, and continued working on pulling the arrow out. The king understood and looked to the other side, though a smile still curled on the edge of his lips.
Once he had it firmly grasped between his hands, Falco breathed in , knowing that it was deeply sunk in and would tear the flesh, causing a lot of pain. But still, there was nothing else he could do, so he shook his head, looking to the ground.
“This will hurt” he whispered, and then pulled it out in one go. The king bent over in pain, groaning slightly and gritting his teeth. The younger elf, still not daring to look at his father's face, swiftly tore off a piece of his cloak and bandaged the wound carefully, noticing the king gulp and then thankfully place a hand on his shoulder. Falco jumped slightly, pushing the hand off, and then turned away , standing up and turning his back to the king.
“I am going to search for firewood, I won't be long” he said, rushing into the bushes. Once he was far enough away, he lent on a tree, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. Pulling his hood off, he rubbed his forehead. Why did he even have to be here? Why did he have to be the prince? All these questions swirled up in his mind as he began gathering wood, hoping that his father would be alright where he had left him. Falco felt ashamed. He didn't even dare to look at the king's face, yet alone to speak with him. Sighing, he stood up. He would have to. When he got back, he would look at his father in the eyes and apolozize, he would tell him that he had missed him and that he was glad to be back home once again.
Frowning, he stood up, and made his way towards where he had left Legolas. The twigs cracked under his feet as he got closer, breathing deeply and trying to calm down.
He reached the place and sat down, shivering slightly and placing the wood so it could burn easily. Then he lit a fire, and made sure the heat of it reached the injured king before pulling his hood up again and sitting next to the fire, putting his cold hands close to it. There was an awkward silence, before Falco finally looked up at the king's face, noticing great similarities with his own. Definitely, the elves had been right when they said he looked like his father. Gulping, he looked down at his feet, before raising his head, frowning and shifting slightly. He was about to utter something, but then fell silent, looking at the flames that cast eerie shadows upon the floor.
Suddenly, he felt something bang his head, and all went dark for a moment. He felt hands grabbing him and stuffing something in his mouth, but still he managed to let out a muffled cry:
“Run!” he said “Run, father!” he shouted, struggling as something hit his head again and whatever it was grabbed him, tying a rope around his arms. I need to save the king, I need to save the king was his only thought. Legolas was badly hurt, and Falco knew he needed to save him. He struggled a bit more, groaning as more ropes tied around his legs and a cloth was stuffed in his mouth. He thrashed about, muffled sounds coming out of his mouth, but something hit him on the head again, this time even harder, before everything went black...
((I don't know why, but I have got the opposite of writers block. Sorry it was so long, I feel like I could just go on writing for years!