Imagine having ran away from the Elven kingdom while being betrothed to Thranduil and returning
“ Where is lady Thranduil ?! I must speak with her this instant !”
You shout while making your way to the throne room where you were sure to find Thranduil.
Thranduil pales perceptibly and even shivers at the loud voice, knowing only one fool daring to address him this way.
One of the counsellors asks while Thranduil closes his eyes and takes a big breath of air before responding with visible disdain.
“ The most annoying arrogant little vermin to ever walk this earth..”
Suddenly, the door of the throne room is kicked open and you walk in with a big bright smile.
“ Hello, your majesty ! Remember me ?! How is that scar of yours ?! Still healing ?!”
He sighs loudly before ordering the other people present to leave with a slight nod of his head. When everyone is gone, he turns towards you with a fake smile.
“ Lady Y/N.. What an unpleasant surprise..!How could I ever forget you ? If I remember correctly, I swore to kill you myself if you ever dared to show your face again ?”
You ignore his barely hidden threat with a dismissive wave of your hand.
“ Bah ! Still mad ?! Me who thought you elves were all about forgiveness ?! And, if I remember correctly, I told you that I wouldn’t come back to your lovely spooky forest unless death was upon me !”
He nods and smirks before crossing his arms over his chest.
“ Well..At least you don’t have a problem of memory. You look well enough..How about you see yourself out ?”
You bite your lower lip hesitantly, when he walks past you in order to leave, before turning around and shouting.
“ Thranduil ! I’m dying !”
He stops dead in his tracks and turns towards you slowly with a frown.
You sigh before looking up at him with begging eyes.
“ I’m..I’m dying, Thranduil..I have been cursed by a very powerful mage. I only have a short time left and I wanted to make amends before I leave..So, please, hear me out..”
He doesn’t answer and you take that as an invitation to keep talking.
“ I wanted to apologize. All those years ago, I wounded you. But, you have to understand why ?! We were betrothed, while you had just lost your wife..I knew that it was unfair of my family to force an alliance so soon. I wanted to get away, and I knew that they wouldn’t let me leave unless I escaped. I didn’t think that you would be the one trying to stop me..I didn’t know because it was dark and I thought it was a soldier that would get me back if I didn’t fight back ! I couldn’t have known that it was you ! I wouldn’t have fought you.”
He sighs before asking you.
You frown before replying, visibly annoyed.
“ Did you hear a word of what I just said ?! Can’t you just forgive me so I can finally have peace ?!”
He turns around and walks towards you at lightning speed before yelling.
“ No ! I can’t ! Now, tell me, how long ?!”
You are startled by his sudden outburst and quickly answer.
“ 5 days ! I’ve got 5 days..”
He visibly clenches his jaw and asks surprisingly calmly.
“ Where ? Where did he curse you ?”
When you don’t answer, he grabs your wrist and you cry out in pain. He frowns before tearing your sleeve in half and looking at the rotten skin there. He softly touches it with the tip of his fingers and you whimper. He looks up at you with a worried glance before leading you to his throne. He gets out a big book that seems to be as old as the forest itself from underneath the throne and starts flicking through the pages in search for something that could help you.
“ Who was that great mage of yours ?”
You hesitate before finally admitting.
“ Saruman. I tried to steal something from him..”
Thranduil suddenly looks up at you with a raised eyebrow, urging you to continue with his eyes.
“ I..This is why I am here, Thranduil..”
You get out some kind of little blue fial and he rises up from his throne to look at it more closely, tilting his head slightly to observe it with more attention.
He finally asks while continuing observing it with attention, tilting his head slightly to the other side. You sigh before admitting.
“ A potion of resurrection. He had it in his tour and wanted to use it to resurrect someone..I don’t know who. But, when I heard that he had this kind of potion, I sneaked inside his home and stole it. But, before I could get out of there safely, he woke up and cursed me..”
Thranduil growls in annoyance at the lack of results from his search inside the book and also, at your foolishness.
“ You fool ! He could have killed you ! Why would you go do something so stupid and reckless ?!”
He asks, visibly upset, and you can only shrug with a sad smile.
“ Maybe because I wanted to give you a chance to be happy again ?”
He frowns in incomprehension until you explain.
“ It was for your wife. It was for Evranï.”
His eyes widen in shock at her name and his eyes keep going back and forth from the small vial to your face, trying to see if you were telling the truth.
“ Y/N..Why ? Why do this for me ? Why risk your life for someone that you don’t even know..?”
You smile pitifully at him before replying with tears forming at the corner of your eyes.
“ Because that’s what you do when you’re in love, right ? You do everything in your power to make them happy..You may have not known until today but, I fell in love with you, Thranduil..I fell in love with you the moment I first set eyes on you during my first visit to your castle. You may not share my feelings, but it doesn’t mean I have to forget about them, right ?”
He was about to answer when you start coughing loudly and cover your mouth with your hand. You then notice the blood and Thranduil seems to notice too since he is standing next to you in a matter of seconds. You fall to your knees and Thranduil is there to catch you.
“ Y/N ! You told me 5 days, Y/N ! What’s going on ?!”
You smile sadly before confessing.
“ I may have lied a little..Saruman told me that I had 5 days to return his vial..four days ago..”
You had never seen the king cry before, it was so hard to imagine his perfect face stained by such vain things as tears..and yet, here he was, crying his eyes out over you. You stroke his cheek lovingly before forcing yourself to smile reassuringly at him.
“ Don’t cry, my king..This is a happy moment. I finally got the chance to help you and you will soon be able to see your beloved wife again..So, smile for me, okay ?”
You feel the intense pain gaining your heart and tighten your grip on the king’s arm unconsciously. He notices and puts his own hand on yours.
“ You silly woman..I won’t let you die. You still have so much to do, and much more to make amends for, before I can forgive you..”
He softly says and you shake your head, the words feeling like fire every time you utter them.
“ Please..Forgive me, my king..I know that I’ve disappointed you greatly, but please, forgive me so I can leave this world in peace..You can see it as a final act of mercy for a repentent soul ? I give you my life for your wife’s..A soul for a soul..I only ask for forgiveness in return..”
You implore him and he looks at the vial that you place in his hand. He then glances back at you with a sad smile, cradling your face and kissing your forehead lovingly.
“ I can’t forgive you, because there is nothing to forgive..You were afraid and needed someone to believe in you. I’ve let fear and sorrow blind me from my duties towards you. Letting you think that your life had any less value than the one of my deceased wife was my mistake. I should be the one begging for forgiveness, not you. This is why, I can’t accept your gift..”
He approaches the vial to your lips and you open your eyes wide at his intent. You close your lips tightly, knowing that if you were to drink it, the queen would never be reborn. He grits his teeths before grabbing your face and pressing his fingers against your cheeks, trying to make you open your mouth, unsuccessfully.
“ I refuse to let you die, Y/N ! Now, drink, you stubborn woman !”
He shouts, but you shake your head and wiggle too much for him to be able to force you to drink the potion with the vial. He finally sighs in, what you thought was, defeat before looking up at the ceiling and whispering.
“ I’m sorry my beloved, but I can’t let an innocent girl be the price of my selfishness.”
You frown in incomprehension until you see him drink the potion before pouring it down your throat. You try to push him away, but his lips are sealed to yours and he doesn’t step back until you’ve swallowed every last drop of the potion. Then, and only then, does he step back to look at your arm, making sure that the healing process had begun. He smiles satisfactorily at the skin taking back its original condition.
“ You see ? In a couple of days you’ll be on your feet again.”
He says, but you don’t answer and she he looks back at you, he sees that you’ve blacked out. He smiles before kissing your forehead again.
“ Sleep well, my little spitfire.”
As soon as you are awake, you storm inside the throne room with only one person in mind : Thranduil. When he sees you arrive, he smiles, but unlike his previous thoughts on your reaction when you would eventually wake up, he finds you angry and with tears in your eyes. Before anyone could stop you, you walk towards the king with determination and slap him across the face so hard that the sound resonates around the throne room. His surprise turns into anger and he was about to yell at you for your behavior when he sees that you are crying.
“ Why did you do that ?! You kingdom needs a queen !”
He suddenly understands what you are so upset about and before he could answer, you crumble at his feet. You grip the bottom part of his robe and starts sobbing, hiding your face in the piece of cloth. He sighs before forcing you to look at him, grabbing your chin between his thumb and forefinger to look deeply into your teary eyes.
You suddenly stand up and yell, obviously offended.
“ Who said it was a mistake ?! I gave you what you always wanted !”
He frowns before standing up as well and glaring back at you.
“ I do say it is a mistake because you made a reckless decision that could have led you to your death ! Your life belongs to me! Don’t you dare forget again ! You’ll die when I see fit ! You really thought that coming in here and dying on my floor would make me happy ?!”
You open your eyes wide and hold back the tears that were threatening to come back. He regrets his sudden outburst nearly instantly and straightens up to add.
“ But, as a queen, you are to learn from your mistakes and make good use of them..”
You grit your teeths before replying confidently.
“ I am no queen ! I am a warrior ! I have spilt blood and done things..things that would only bring you down with me. Why want me as a queen ?”
He sighs before turning towards you with a sad smile.
” What makes a queen ? A queen learns to survive, and even if her hands are red with the blood of her enemies, her heart will always be pure, for it beats for her people. A queen can have moments of weaknesses, as any other creature on earth, but she learns from her mistakes. As I have learned from mine. Don’t you think I already thought about running away ? Leaving my duties, my son and my kingdom behind ?“
His eyes turn grey for a moment and he looks at his thrown before answering truthfully.
” I admit that I was upset at first when my advisors urged me to find a new wife, casting aside the memory of my sweet Evranï. But, having no choice, I had to make a decision. I traveled to every land in order to find that being that would be able to take my love’s place on the throne by my side..When I thought that all hope was lost and that I would never find such a person, I found you. I saw you near the weeping willow, as still as a statue and listening to the wind with your eyes closed. I found myself wondering what you were waiting for and sat on the ground until the sun disappeared behind the hills, only then did you move and, to my astonishment, you started dancing with a sword in your hand. Your gestures were so precise and calculated, as if you could slash the wind itself in two. Only a few days later did I finally get an explanation to your particularly odd behavior from one of the villagers, you were training to slay a monster that was killing villagers in your land that nobody had ever seen, but that those who had survived described as fast as the wind. I wanted to laugh at the ridiculous theory, but couldn’t bring myself to and decided to wait to see if you would succeed, certain that nobody could slay such a beast. But then, one day, you came in the inn where I was staying with a large victorious smile, covered in blood and carrying the body of the beast on your back that had a wide range of pointy teeths and a very distinctive fur color, one that I had never seen before..Blue with yellow stripes. I remember feeling a sudden wave of pride and respect towards you. Such dedication, patience and strength are what I always thought made a queen. That day, I knew that you would be the only one I would ever accept to rule side by side with..“
You open your eyes wide at the revelation before remembering that there was no weeping willow near the castle and this is when you recall your childhood weeping willow, the one that you used to come to think and imagine what the world would be like outside of your little town. You look up at Thranduil with wide eyes full of admiration, realizing that he had always been one step ahead of you, already knowing you before you even set foot into his kingdom. Thranduil only chuckles at your startled expression.
“ You didn’t think I would let some random stranger choose the woman I would be spending the rest of my life with, did you ? Who do you think invited you to the castle in the first place ? You may have chosen me, but I chose you first, my queen..”
He suddenly kneels on one knee in front of you and you blush vividly before hitting his shoulder.
” Get up ! You could have told me ! I thought that you didn’t even know my name until I escaped !“
He chuckles again before getting up and leaning in so close that you could stare deep into his beautiful blue eyes. He then proceeds to whisper in the shell of your ear.
” Do not misunderstand. Try to escape again ? And I’ll break your legs. Understood, my dear ?“
You shiver at his threat and nod vividly, gulping loudly at his sudden change of demeanor. He smirks at you, satisfied with your answer, before walking towards the exit with the same usual elegance that all elves seem to possess. It takes you a while to react and when you do, you turn around to yell.
” Hey ! Come back here, you tall drama queen wannabe ! I’m not finished with you yet !“
He only laughs before replying with a sing-song voice.
” Welcome home, my queen !“
You huff in annoyance, but can’t help smiling at the end. King Thranduil wasn’t an easy elf..But, you wouldn’t have him any other way. He made you keep going and even if he was harsh in his lessons, you knew that the harsh truth was always better than sugar-coated lies. During your many travels, you had met many different people in many different lands, but none ever compared to the elf king who could be as cold as ice, but also as hot as the sun that shined high in the sky. He always was one step ahead from everyone and even if you were to rule by his side until the end of your life, you would surely never succeed in understanding him.
He suddenly stops in the corridor and turns towards you with a knowing smile.
” Well ? Aren’t you coming ?“
You smile and nod before running towards him.
He answers before looking down at you while you smile devilishly at him.
” Since I am to become queen, does that mean that I can call you lady Thranduil all I want now ?“
He sighs exasperatedly before rolling his eyes playfully.
” I would rather not, especially in front of my advisors or subjects..but when have you ever taken my opinion into account ?“
You laugh happily before closing your fingers on his hand.
” Who knows ? Maybe I was following your plans from the beginning ?“
He chuckles before smiling mysteriously at you.
” And how did you come to this fascinating conclusion ?“
You look back up at him before replying.
” I just remembered that I was wearing the fur of the beast the night that I escaped..As you said it yourself, of a very “distinctive color”, one that nobody could have mistaken..“
He understands and grins at you.
” Looks like I’ve been exposed..Well played.“
You smile widely before winking cheekily at him.
” A queen knows how to learn from her mistakes..“
