Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story, and make no money from them. This story is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.

Thanks to reviewers of the last story! Whyamiobsessed, leggyrespect123, CoffeeRanger, Hawaiichick.

Being sick sucks. I spent all yesterday practically bed-ridden, which is why this story's going up a day later than normal. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy baby Legolas!

NOTES: I am working on the assumption that five years for elflings equals one year for humans in terms of physical development. Legolas is about twelve in terms of years lived; but physically he is not even three. His mental comprehension is more advanced than a three-year-old human, but he is still a baby.

The title of this story roughly translates to 'father of my father' as I could not find an elvish word for grandfather.

Tales from Mirkwood: Ada Adaenin

Legolas tip-toed along the corridor, hiding whenever he heard any noise. His soft leather boots made no sound on the stone floors, and his small stature made it possible for him to duck behind furniture and not be seen. He had finally managed to escape from under his mother's watchful eye, and was dying to explore. While he had seen most of the palace by now, he wasn't allowed to explore it without supervision. The tiny elfling felt a thrill of excitement at the knowledge of what he was doing.

He knew he should stay with his Naneth, and had for many days. But eventually, the urge to explore by himself became too great. This morning, when she had gone into the next room to talk to his Uncle Galion about something, Legolas had made his move, and snuck out of their quarters. He'd been planning it for weeks, so it hadn't been that hard. The hardest part was making sure no one saw him, as if he were caught he'd be sent back with no chance of escape. And the little Thranduilion did not want that to happen. He wanted to be like his older brothers, Lanny, and even Tordir; able to wander wherever he wanted when he wanted it.

He'd repetitively been told when he was bigger he would be able to, but Legolas didn't want to wait until then. He wanted to be big now, do big elf things now. He was tired of being little, and thought if he could only explore by himself, he would be able to pretend he was a big elf.

Legolas spent ages sneaking round the halls. It was exciting, though having to frantically search for somewhere to hide whenever he thought he heard someone coming was getting very tiring. Legolas had no idea where he was, but when he arrived in front of a highly-decorated door he'd never seen before, the elfling stopped and stared in wonder. It was a very highly-decorated door.

Before Legolas could do more than start to examine the bottom section, the clear sound of footsteps approaching the door on the other side had the elfling panicking. Legolas wasted no time in bolting down the corridor, turning the corner so fast he was practically a blur. He was so intent on making sure the elf he'd heard did not see him, that he didn't register the legs that had appeared in front of him until after he'd bumped into them. Landing on his backside with a pained 'oomph', Legolas craned his neck to see what he had run into. The elfling's bright green eyes met amused grey-blue ones, as Oropher looking down at his youngest grandson.

Legolas froze, unsure how to react or what to do. He hadn't had a lot to do with Oropher over the years, apart from the occasional family gathering, and at all those times his grandfather had seemed very cold and aloof. Legolas had also noted how the servants and his friends were wary around him. That, coupled with the stern expression that never left Oropher's face, meant the elfling tried to avoid him as much as was possible.

"Legolas, what are you doing here? Should you not be with your mother?"

Sure that the game was up now, and he'd be sent back to the boring atmosphere of his mother's room, Legolas started crying. Bringing his small knees up to his chest, the elfling hugged them as he sobbed.

"Legolas? What is wrong?"

If Oropher has not been sure what to do when the small elfling had collided with his legs, he was even less sure what to do when said elfling started crying and refusing to talk to him. Thranduil would know what to do, his son was much better at parenting then he'd ever been, but Oropher did not have a clue where to begin to calm the elfling down. Thinking hard, the King remembered how Thranduil had always like been picked up when he was little. Deciding he had nothing to lose, Oropher awkwardly leant over and scooped the child up. That stopped the noise, and Legolas looked at him in surprise. His eyes were still red-rimmed from crying and his nose was running, but at least he was quiet now, Oropher thought with relief.

Gently wiping the tears away with his sleeve, Oropher spoke.

"Legolas, why did you start crying when I asked you what you were doing?"

His baby grandson dropped his eyes.

"I don't want to be sent back. It's boring! I want to explore, and be a big elf. Please don't send me back!"

It took Oropher a while to get the whole story out of the elfling, and when he eventually did, he couldn't help smiling. While the King knew that the sensible thing would be to return Legolas to Tathardis, he found he hadn't the heart to crush the elfling's desire to be a big elf. Yet, he couldn't just let the elfling wander around by himself, and he had that audience with those humans in the throne room to go to…

Oropher grinned as a solution presented itself.

"Legolas, would you like to help me out with some big elf things?"

The elfling's eyes went big, and he nodded fervently.

"Yes! So long as I don't have to go back."

Oropher smiled.

"If you will help me, then you do not have to. But you must be still and quiet, as this is an important matter. Promise me?"

Legolas nodded decisively.

"I promise. What are we going to do?"

Oropher grinned and explained the plan to the elfling as he headed towards the throne room with Legolas in his arms. He was going to seriously enjoy intimidating these humans now. Especially with such a captivated audience as Legolas.

Thranduil and Tathardis met up after hours of searching; worry was etched onto both their faces. Despite combing the palace from top to bottom, they hadn't found a trace of Legolas, and both were starting to get very concerned.

Tathardis especially, was ready to pull out all the stops.

"He must have gone outside. We had best inform everybody of the situation, and have them searching for him before dark. He could be anywhere. I hope he is alright."

Thranduil put an arm around his wife soothingly.

"I am sure he will be fine. He is a wood elf after all. But, if he has indeed gone outside, then we will need all the help we can get. I will go and speak to my father to appraise him of the situation, and ask for his permission to mobilise the army to help us find him."

Tathardis sighed.

"Okay. He's in the throne room, isn't he? I'll wait outside. Please don't be long."

Thranduil stood just inside the door to the throne room, stared at his father in shock. Or rather, he stared at his young missing son curled up asleep in his grandfather's arms, as said grandfather sat comfortably on his throne. Oropher gazed right back at him, and said in a mild tone.

"Is something wrong, Thranduil?"

Thranduil blinked.

"We have been looking for Legolas for hours; he slipped Tathardis's watch. Has he been here with you this whole time?"

Oropher smiled down at the top of the sleeping elflings head where it lay against his chest.

"He has been with me for a few hours, yes. I came across him in one of the hallways, and he agreed to help me deal with those humans. He did a great job too. Did the House of Oropher proud."

Thranduil's holders slumped.

"We have been searching this place from top to bottom looking for him."

Oropher smiled, even as his eyes did not leave his grandson.

"Not quite top to bottom. You did not check here, or in my chambers I will bet."

Thranduil did not know what to say in answer to that. Oropher sighed before standing up and carefully navigating the stairs with his precious burden. Legolas barely stirred, he was so worn out. Reaching the floor without mishap, Oropher walked over to stand in front of his son, and placed and his free hand on Thranduil's shoulder.

"Thranduil. I know that I am not the best at showing emotions, but I want you to know that I love and care about you all very deeply. I would do almost anything to make you happy and keep you safe. Legolas broke down into tears when he thought he would be sent back to his rooms. I had not the heart to destroy his dreams, so kept him with me to keep him safe. I should have sent a message to you, but it totally slipped my mind. I am sorry."

Thranduil stared at his father. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd heard Oropher apologise about anything in his lifetime. Seeing that look, Oropher sighed again and changing the subject.

"Did you come here to tell me that he was missing?"

Thranduil nodded.

"Yes, and to ask your permission to mobilise the army to find him."

Oropher raised an eyebrow.

"You wanted to ask my permission for that?"

Thranduil nodded as he looked at his feet.

"It is your army. I am just the Crown Prince."

Oropher sighed yet again.

"Thranduil. If anything ever happens that compromises, or has the potential to compromise, any member of our family, then you have my full permission to do whatever is necessary to help them. Even if it means mobilising the army without my permission, or something even more drastic. You all mean the world to me, and I never want to be the cause of any of you being hurt if I can help it. Do you understand?"

Thranduil nodded, though he still did not seem too sure of himself.

"Yes, Ada. I understand."

"I mean it, Thranduil. And you can tell the others the same goes for them. Now, Legolas needs to go to bed."

Oropher swept out the door without waiting for an answer, and deposited the still sleeping elfling into a surprised Tathardis's arms before striding off. Tathardis looked at her son with relief, and then gave Thranduil a questioning look as he came out of the throne room.

"What just happened?"

Thranduil just shook his head. He was lost for words.

"Let's put Legolas to bed, and I will tell you everything. You are not going to believe it."

I just really wanted to write about Oropher cuddling a tiny Legolas, and actually displaying some level of emotions. That then somehow morphed into an awkward emotional talk between Thranduil and his father. But it also serves to illustrate quite nicely that Oropher cares about his family a lot, though he has trouble showing it, and would do almost anything to keep them safe. Too bad he has such a fiery temper, or he might have survived Dagorlad.

Preview of next week's story: Gifts

Thondir didn't stop completely until he came to a brightly-coloured stall located at one end of the market. A small grey-haired woman smiled at the dark-haired elf as his eyes roamed over her handiwork.

"Good day sir, can I help you?"

Thondir nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the wares.

"Yes, thank you. What are these called?"

(Thondir, for those who don't know, is the older brother of Tathardis and Tulusdis)

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