Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

A Frozen Sun	By : Esequell Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Hobbit, The Views: 2548 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit and I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
3 – An Ill, Cold Wind
Finding Leesha had become Legolas' burden. She had run off some time before and despite his sharp hearing Legolas could not find her anywhere.
She is so good at hiding I am beginning to wonder if she knows something I do not, he thought. How can such a young girl be so fast?
He was still walking a circuit of the upper rooms calling her name when he met Pephennas coming the other way. She wore a flowing pale green gown tied together with an embroidered sash. It was a decidedly country fashion but he liked it. It stirred a distant, happy memory of his Mother, who had favoured similar colours. Phe was carrying Gwenthel in her hand and immediately Legolas sensed Leesha had been up to no good.
'My Lord!' Phe called. 'Have you seen little Leesha?'
'No, my lady. I am looking for her. She has run off.'
'She was in our rooms just a few minutes ago,' Phe informed him. 'But she ran when I saw her and left her doll.'
Legolas was about to wonder aloud why Leesha might be hiding in the guest chambers and then his sharp eyes spotted a little, curly haired dot running toward Thranduil's study far below. He pointed.
'There she is,' he smiled just like his Father. 'That girl is mischief with skin on.'
Phe laughed.
'I had better return this to her,' she said. Then she turned to Legolas as if she had something to say. 'My lord. I meant to thank you for defending us in the forest. I suppose it might seem a little silly to you that I am no warrior. I have seen a lot of women in armour here. I was never trained to fight like that. My father believes it is unbecoming a lady to know more than simple self defence.'
'You will not want to say that too loudly here,' Legolas offered her a shy smile.
Phe grinned and nodded.
'Yes, I had guessed as much. I saw your Captain of the Guard ride out this morning. Her hair was longer than Thranduil's, quite a feat. She was beautiful.'
Legolas smiled at her.
'Tauriel is a gifted warrior,' he said.
'I hope you do not think less of me.'
'No,' Legolas shook his head. 'I do not. I am sure my father thinks you brave. You have never seen an Ungol before, have you?'
'No, and I will be glad to never meet one again.'
Legolas nodded lightly.
'We have plenty here, lady Phe. Perhaps you should begin training with a blade?'
'My father would have ducklings.'
Legolas snorted in laughter and quickly covered it with his hand.
'What a picture.'
She smirked shyly, and together they fell into step, slowly following the route to Leesha.
'My Lord? It is strange to adopt for elves, is it not? I am surprised that Thranduil has done so.'
Legolas licked his lips. Phe sensed he was searching for the right thing to say.
'My Mother is long dead and my Father refuses to take another wife,' he said.
Phe gazed at him in confusion until she realised he had obviously not yet been told. He went on; 'My Father likes children and he has a way with them. Family is important to him. Even if it is adopted family.'
'I understand,' Phe said. 'Our family are our closest allies.'
A nod. They drew up to the double doors to the Kings study.
Inside, Thranduil spoke in a low, soft voice; 'Where is Gwenthel, have you lost her again?'
An aide opened the door to admit them. Thranduil's study was a large room overlooking the woods. There was an old, beautiful table and a set of chairs. Beyond them a big, bay window with seats that looked well used. Thranduil was sitting with Lord Caduven. There was drink in their crystal glasses and a bottle half empty on the table. Phe spied some maps and figures on paper between them. Leesha had climbed into Thranduil's lap and disturbed their work.
'Hir vuin, forgive me, I think she has lost this. It was in our room,' Phe held the doll up.
'Goheno nin,' Thranduil apologised, 'She has not learned which rooms belong the family yet. Did she disturb you?'
'No, hir vuin,' Phe said quickly. The ghost of tears still hung around her eyes and gazing on the King, Phe found herself feeling defeated. Was it possible that her Father was just proposing the match now? Had Leesha disturbed them? Phe was about to smile and say that it was no trouble when her Father turned to look at her in such a pointed way that it was clear she had disturbed him in the middle of something very important. Before she could bow her head and make a hasty retreat, Thranduil set Leesha down on the floor.
'Go on,' Thranduil prompted her and she padded up to Pephennas, who handed Gwenthel back to her.
The little girl smiled and hugged her doll. She scampered back to Thranduil.
'Hey!' he caught her by the hand before she could hide behind his chair and pointed to Phe. 'You have forgotten your manners. Thank the Lady Pephennas for returning Gwenthel.'
So Leesha turned with a shy little smile on her face, dropped a cute little curtsey and said; 'Thank you, your highness,' in Sindarin with a thick accent. Thranduil bit back a laugh. He caught Leesha around her tummy and gave her a little reassuring squeeze. The girl smiled and put her curly soft head against his jaw. She smelled like the oil he had given her for her baths and she was warm and small in his hands. Thranduil felt love for her rise inside him and wanted very much to leave Caduven to his plots and calculations and take his new daughter to do something more fun, but it was not to be.
'That is very good, Leesha, but Lady Phe is not a Queen, and you have become a lady yourself. So you must call her Lady Phe, or hiril vuin. Yes? Go to Legolas. There, look,' Thranduil pointed to the steps, where Legolas gestured. 'He is waiting for you. So is Anion. Tell him he is to play a game of your choice with you.'
Phe bowed her head and retreated with a soft, 'My King.'
Phe was sure she could feel the Kings eyes on her back, but they were not nearly so heavy as her Father's.
000
That afternoon Leesha ran off all her energy and she came to Legolas for an unexpected cuddle. Before he knew it she had fallen asleep on his lap and trapped him upon a bench. Legolas gazed miserably in the direction of the trees, wishing he could be in the woods with Tauriel. Thranduil found him there. Legolas sensed his Father was in an ill mood but when he saw his son so afflicted, he smiled. Thranduil regretted not giving him a brother or sister of his own age. Legolas was spoiled, no doubt. Though he had grown into a fine young man in name and form, he had things to learn about family life that Thranduil feared it would take a family of his own to teach him. One of them was patience.
Now if I can just get him suitably married it will be one less trouble.
'Ada? What has happened?' Legolas sensed the kings displeasure.
Thranduil gazed down at Leesha and finding her fast asleep he whispered intensely; 'He is after the Summer Isles. I knew it, the crawling louse!'
'He has offered you Pephennas then?' Legolas guessed Caduven's intent. Thranduil was proud of him for that.
'He seems to lack the courage,' Thranduil bent down to scoop Leesha up gently and cupped her head to his shoulder. Thranduil hissed softly, furiously; 'It is only a matter of time. The deceiver. He thinks that when the Power rises he can retreat to the Summer Isles and lay, protected by water, while the fire burns us all away!'
Leesha stirred and grumbled and Thranduil shushed her warmly and stroked her hair until she settled.
'What will you do?' asked Legolas softly.
Thranduil gazed at him over Leesha's head. His Winter eyes were full of sadness and pain. Legolas thought he wore the expression of the broken hearted. To imply that he would want to trade some of their most productive land for a widow woman he did not know or love had certainly insulted Thranduil's sense of taste, but worse was the implication that Caduven would forsake all honour to his kin and flee to safety when the Darkness came over Middle Earth again.
'You are going to refuse her,' Legolas said, knowingly.
'He is presumptuous and arrogant, and I do not want another wife. Not even she.'
Legolas nodded.
'And Pephennas? What of her reputation? People would wonder why.'
'She is not my concern.'
Thranduil turned away, then as a parting shot he breathed; 'I would not let a stranger be mother to my children. He has much to learn about how this Kingdom is run.'
Legolas watched him walk away. He was too old to accept a new Mother anyway, but Thranduil's comment made him feel protected and safe and reassured that little was likely to change.
Thranduil headed for the family rooms where Anion was taking a nap on his bed. Thranduil laid Leesha down next to him and covered her with a soft, patchwork blanket. He was about to leave when she opened her eyes and mumbled something. He stroked her head softly.
'Ssssh,' he soothed her.
'Lady Penenas says your eyes is cold,' she murmured in the common tongue, 'She don't want to marry you.'
Thranduil looked at her quizzically but she was already asleep. He crept outside and shut the door. Disguised by the shadows of a great root, Thranduil gazed down the long steps to the guest quarters. A creeping sense of dread crawled up his back. It was hard to keep secrets here and he had the feeling this one was already out.
Cold? How does she know anything about my eyes? So the girl does not like the arrangement. Neither do I. Which is why she will not be subjected to me and I will not be responsible for her fate. It matters not. Lovely as she is, I do not want her.
000
Before dinner, Thranduil was standing alone in his chambers. The door opened softly and alerted him to a presence. He was just placing his crown back on his head when his oldest daughter stepped up behind him with a broad smile on her face. Thranduil had chosen a pale blue overcoat and it brought out his eyes. Olerydes privately thought he looked very handsome in it.
'Never can I get this thing to sit right. It must be my brain grows bigger,' he teased her.
'You shouldn't brag, Ada,' Olerydes smirked. She took the crown from his fingers and he obligingly bent down so that she could seat it on his head and rearrange his hair. 'It may only be your skull gets thicker.'
Thranduil laughed.
'It is likely hereditary.'
'I hope not,' Olerydes smiled at him. Then she let out a slow breath through her nose. How she reminded Thranduil of her mother when she did that. It was her signal that she was deep in thought, but there was also a hint of something else there. Then Thranduil spied the gem at her throat. That must be a gift from Ronir, he thought, this almost-fiance who is too afraid to come and see me.
Olerydes' smile grew wan.
'I miss her so,' she said softly. 'She should be here, for you. For us.'
'As do I,' Thranduil nodded. 'Even now it is as if she will come walking around the corner. Sometimes I forget myself and think to call her name.'
'When I wake,' she said softly, 'I sometimes think I hear her walking about. Then I remember she is dead and I cry again. Will it ever end, Ada? Does the pain go on forever?'
Thranduil sighed softly. His own heart ached at her memory. It had been so many years but still he felt her loss as keenly as ever. Nothing could fill that void, nor ease his loneliness.
'I remember Oropher's death,' he said. 'My heart is still aching for him. Time will dull the pain but nothing will ever take away your sadness. Ada would have liked your character, and taught you to play games as he did with me.'
'You taught me those things,' Olerydes smiled at him. His heart went warm.
If I have nothing else, Iellig, I will have your devotion. And you will have mine. Forever.
Thranduil was proud of her, so proud it nearly hurt, because she had grown into a fine woman. And if Ronir plucked the courage soon, he knew she would be a good wife and Mother too. The thought of becoming a Grandfather filled him with delight and he privately prayed she would be married soon.
'Because your Grandfather was not there to do it himself,' Thranduil smiled. 'I believe I am getting old, Olerydes. I feel it.'
Olerydes laughed. 'You are not that old!'
Thranduil just smiled. Then he touched the gem at her throat with warm fingertips.
'Is this one new? I do not recall it.'
Olerydes was not a good liar. Her face changed and some deep, troubled feeling clouded her expression. She dropped her gaze. Thranduil found himself smiling, a little lift about the corners of his mouth that suggested he knew the girls secret long before she told it.
'I think Ronir wants to ask you for my hand,' she said.
Thranduil smiled with the lazy satisfaction of a Father who had just been proven right.
'I knew it. You see? I told you it was just a matter of patience. Tell him to come and see me and I will frighten him, bless him and then hand him my daughter. Do not tell him that I am not so fierce. He is supposed to be afraid, that is the fun for me. Go, find your sister, she will be in her chambers fretting about her hair. Tell her I am sure she is beautiful, and do not be late for dinner this time.'
Thranduil watched her leave with a smile. One daughter soon to be wed and another so interested in boys that it was only a matter of time before she found herself a husband. Soon his girls would fly and the nest would be empty but for Leesha and Anion.
An old elf I am, with an aching heart, he thought. How I miss you. How I wish I could hold you just once, speak to you, love you again. He had intended to serve his days as King and then before age could slow him down, hand his crown to Legolas and whatever suitable bride the boy finally chose and retire to the Summer Isles with his one true love. There he would be simply Thranduil. He would take his books and his lyre and pretend to be entirely average. He would rise when he pleased and eat when he pleased and make love to his wife as often as he could. The life of the honored old King did not suit him. Thranduil did not want to live out his days as adviser to his son, who would make all the same mistakes he had regardless of what his Ada said.
Now Thranduil would retire alone and sleep beside a grapevine. He felt lonely and afraid without her and as time passed, he found himself more and more in need of more than the comfort of her memory. His very skin ached for loving touch, more than his children or a mere friend could provide. The dead could not do much for the living. At times he was sure he felt her around, watching, waiting, as if she knew something he did not. Thranduil was beginning to feel the chill creep into his bed at night and the sorrow settle too deep in his heart. His youthful lightness had gone from him in the wake her death. His body felt heavier, his thoughts darker and his neck ached with the weight of the crown.
000
Thranduil had been trained so long to be needed that sleeping seemed like a waste of his time. Three or fours hours was normally as much as he could manage. This night had not been an easy one. Leesha had begun to suffer nightmares. It was still dark and the stars glimmering brightly overhead when he found himself inexplicably awake. A feeling in his heart lead him to her room where she tossed and turned and then opened her eyes with a cry in the darkness. She found Thranduil stroking her hair.
'What did you dream, Iellig?' he whispered. She put trembling hands on his forearm. 'You can tell me, I will not tell anyone. I will keep all your bad dreams in a little box where they cannot hurt you.'
And she told him, in a sweet, soft little voice that she had seen bad people and her Mummy. Then she began to tremble and would not talk anymore about the red light or the noises that she said were like pigs. Thranduil gathered her, with her blanket, into his arms. She searched the dark corners of the room but she soon stopped trembling and hugged him so sweetly that he wanted to hold her forever and never let her go.
'Daddy, there's a monster with legs,' she finally whispered. Thranduil stroked her head calmly.
'Ada,' he taught her the word. 'A-da.'
She repeated it softly.
'There are no monsters, my sweetling. Just you and me. And Anion is right next door, so if you get scared you can go and wake him up like this,' he shook her shoulder gently, 'and he will come and find me, yes? Shall I bring you a light?'
Leesha clearly wanted one but she did not want him to leave. She hung onto his hand and even began to cry when he tried, so he gave up and lay in her cot beside her. He stroked her hair rhythmically until her breathing became soft and even. Until he was sure she was asleep. He watched the dark beyond the window, watched the glittering stars. Then when Leesha had been silent for an hour or so he gently disentangled himself and crept out of the room.
The next day Leesha did not want to be alone. Thranduil began to understand how difficult her life had been so far. She was keen to clean shoes. This was a trait he was not delighted to see. He wondered if that had been her job. He knew that children were sent to work much earlier than they should be in the free towns and he did not like the idea that Leesha had been one of them. When he took her hands off his boots and asked her what she was doing, she just said 'shiny.'
After that he made sure all shoes were kept out of her way.
Anion came to find her before lunch time. The master had insisted Anion spend some time with his new sister. Thranduil was given to agree that the boy was becoming resentful of all the time Thranduil spent with her. So Thranduil explained to Anion that she would not be so needy forever. Actually it was good to make friends with her and before long she would have hobbies and friends and then everything would return to normal. Anion seemed satisfied enough with that and looked forward to the day when Thranduil was more interested in going riding with him than playing dolls in his study.
Soon after, Thranduil managed to push a doll into his hands and left them together in his study. Outside he found Legolas sitting on one of the high boughs, sharpening his blade and looking glum. Creeping up behind him, Thranduil folded his arms and said; 'Your wear a face like a horses back end.' Legolas jumped and stared up at his Father, then he chuckled.
'It is nothing,' he sighed. Then before Thranduil could get a word in, he burst. 'I am having to watch Olerydes like a hawk, Ada...that man she has been seeing is too bold. He is pushy with her, I do not like it.'
'In what way?'
'I saw them quarreling this morning. He put his hands on her and she shoved him off. He would not stop himself. His behaviour is a concern to me. He is willful at work and twice insubordinate.'
Thranduil frowned.
'That will not do. I will see to him. What is it, Legolas? What is wrong with you?'
Thranduil leaned down and smiled in the way he always had when Legolas was a child.
'Are you angry?' Thranduil asked, as if he had only just noticed.
Then Legolas huffed out a tight breath and met his Father's eyes.
'Is it true?'
'What are you talking about?' Thranduil's smile faded into concern.
'Is it true? The house is buzzing. You agreed to take Pephennas.'
Thranduil stared at him aghast. Then his good humour vanished and he frowned.
'I said nothing. Where has this come from, this is a lie!'
'It is everywhere,' Legolas said. 'Even the guards speak of it.'
Thranduil went white with fury.
'Rhaich! Am I to be damned the whole time they are here?!'
Legolas stood briskly and met his Father's eyes.
'Ada...it is a deliberate slander. I know it.'
Thranduil's mouth twisted into a grimace. 'They seek to force my hand with a rumor, or shame us both if I refuse her. Swine. Legolas. Go and find Ronir and tell him I expect to see him this afternoon. We will get to the bottom of his conduct and then, I will take my pleasure from Lord Caduven's disappointment.'
Legolas nodded his assent and his Father swirled away, angry.
000
The King passed an alcove between two statues where he had once taken Haliel to steal her kisses where his Father would not find them. A corner of Olerydes gown was visible there in the shadows and he could hear their heated whispers.
Valar preserve my patience, he thought. What a fortuitous find. The little shit is in there with my girl.
'No, Ronir!' Olerydes breathed. 'I have told you, not yet-'
'Before you said 'yes'!'
'I was a fool to say 'yes'. Can you not wait a bit longer-'
'No!' he breathed.
Then Olerydes fled the alcove and ran headlong into her Father. Ronir lunged after her, but Thranduil seized them both, Olerydes by her forearm and Ronir by his collar. He was furious enough with Lord Caduven without adding a potential rape to the list of transgressions he had witnessed today.
'What has he done to you?' Thranduil heard himself say, his voice raw and angry in a rare way.
Ronir tried to flee but the Kings fingers were as strong as pincers and just as cold. Olerydes lost all her courage in the face of his wrath. For a second, both were silent and then she broke and sobbed;
'He put his hands on me and would not let me go! Ada!' she pulled the shoulder of her deep blue gown down and there were red crescent marks in her skin, from fingernails. Thranduil's eyes searched the wound and fear and fury rose in equal measure to colour his voice and twist his expression.
'Why did you not tell me!' he yelled. Olerydes shook her head mutely and swallowed hard around her tears.
Thranduil forced Ronir's hand open. Ronir resisted but the King won by strength alone and he placed the boys fingers one by one upon the marks. They fitted. Thranduil's teeth were as white as the gems he favoured. Ronir quailed. The King's face had suddenly drained of all colour and his eyes had lost their lustre and humour. He looked less like the man who would have been his Father by law and more like the King.
'Go to your sister,' Thranduil commanded Olerydes. 'I will come to you when I have dealt with him.'
'Ada-' she tried to quell his anger, but Thranduil turned on her.
'Go!' he shouted. She fled and only when her footfalls had faded did Thranduil turn to the boy.
Thranduil thrust Ronir into a cell himself and slammed the door with a hidden strength. He gripped the bars with hands white as snow, so hard that his knuckle bones showed. He leaned in, teeth bared.
'You may beg for mercy but you will not receive it. If I find you have touched her innocence the dawn will see you dead. Pray she begs me for your life.'
Thranduil climbed the hidden steps, which had been built for the King only. When he reached Olerydes' room he was breathing harder. Lilia comforted him at the door with a few quick, soft words and her calming hands around his. Thranduil moved her gently aside to get a good look at Olerydes, who had sunk into her pillows and was weeping quietly.
'Ada!' Lilia tried to pause him, but Thranduil ignored her. He sat beside his eldest daughter and laid a hand upon back. She curled up tighter, as if to say that her shame was greater than her need for his reassurance.
'Did she tell you what he has done?' Thranduil turned to his youngest, seeking information. Lilia nodded and gracefully she bent to whisper in his ear.
Thranduil's fingers tightened and Olerydes sobbed for fear of what he might say and do. She was frightened of his anger but more afraid to face the consequences of her actions.
'What have you done?' he whispered to her, and Lilia grabbed his shoulder to hold him back.
'No, Ada!'
'I will not punish her!' he snapped at Lilia. 'Not while she carries a child. I am no idiot.'
He plucked her hand off his arm and cast her an expression that Lilia read accurately. Do not try that again.
Lilia went to hold her sisters hand. Thranduil was sure his knees had gone weak. He was glad he was seated. How would he explain this to prying eyes and ears who already gossiped about his reign? How would he dissuade the rest of his children from the same recklessness?
'You fool. After everything I taught you. After all this time you cannot wait one year for marriage!'
Olerydes' shout startled him, and Thranduil found himself face to face with his daughter, more angry than he had ever seen her. She spat the words in his face like her Mother might have when she was pushed to anger.
'He raped me! How could I come to you and tell you I have been so stupid to let him into my chambers!'
Some time later, Olerydes was persuaded to put a shawl around her shoulders and sit up in bed to talk to her Father, who was as ashen faced as a corpse and just as silent. She complained still of being cold, but Lilia knew it was not the Autumn wind that had done it. It was the shock. The atmosphere was so heavy and Lilia feared her Father's reaction, but not more than Olerydes, who seemed to be expecting the very worst from him and would barely meet his eyes.
'She missed her blood,' Lilia finally whispered.
'You have lied for her!' he hissed. 'To me. To your own Father!'
'She swore me to secrecy!' Lilia yelled back.
'Secrecy,' he scoffed. 'I have never heard such rubbish. We might still save this situation.'
Lilia threw down the handkerchief she had been holding and stared at her Ada in shock. Some said he was disobedient to the traditions, and so far she had seen the logic in every decision he had made for their family. Thranduil was not so closed minded as Oropher and he had always been willing to accept the modern, at least up to a point. This, however, was beyond abhorrent to her.
'That is disgusting!' Lilia exclaimed. 'How can you even say it in front of her!'
'What of her child?' he asked. 'Is this fair?'
Olerydes started crying again, and they both fell quiet.
'Olerydes?' Lilia bent low, trying to smile. 'Love...it will be alright. I am sure of it. Ada? It will.'
'I cannot say,' Thranduil stood to gaze out of the window. The cool air caressed his face and stirred his hair. 'This is a situation I have managed to avoid so far.'
Lilia stared at his back. 'Oh, but you have tried, Ada.'
Thranduil turned, annoyed. 'Is that how you speak to your Father?'
Lilia's anger showed around her eyes. She narrowed them, and Thranduil was struck by how like Haliel she looked when she did that. Suddenly he realized this anger had been festering inside her for a while.
What else have I missed in your life? He thought, uncomfortably.
'You instruct us to keep ourselves innocent but you take women into your bed as concubines! What if one of them should bear you a child!'
Thranduil glared at Lilia. 'Then put me over your knee and punish me for my misbehaviour. If you are big enough.'
Lilia swapped to an old elvish phrase. 'You behave like a spoiled child!'
Thranduil bared his teeth. 'I am King,' he breathed, 'I can do as I like!'
Lilia pushed the damp wash cloth she had used on her sisters neck into his hands angrily.
'It is only a baby. It is not the end of her life,' she said, and walked out of the room. Thranduil's mouth opened and then closed and then he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples and thought; making war is far easier than these daughters. If only you were here my love, you could talk some sense into them.
Thranduil threw himself onto the chaise and rubbed his face. He uttered a couple of well chosen curses that made Olerydes flush with surprise. All the strength was gone from his bones. He felt drained. He was thinking, his face absent, when Olerydes knelt at his feet and put both her hands on his knee. The fabric was soft and fine, patterned with thin green lines. He smelled so familiar. It was both comforting and frightening.
'Goheno nin, Ada-' the girl choked, peering into his face, fearing further reproach.
Thranduil leaned back into the cushions with less of the bearing of a King.
'You are a fool,' he said softly. 'I should have taught you better. Set a better example.'
'It was not your fault,' Olerydes said softly.
Thranduil's gaze was penetrating.
'Did you consent, Iellig?'
'I swear I did tell him 'no,' Ada. But the first time...I consented. He said it was not right to refuse him after. I thought that was true...he became more and more insistent. I did not want to lose him.'
Thranduil put a finger under her hand and plucked it off his knee. For a moment Olerydes thought he might cast her touch aside but then he enfolded her hand in his. Her skin was warm and she felt so familiar, so reassuring. She found herself breathing easier. Hardly forgiven, but at least he had stopped shouting at her.
'I will kill him,' he said softly.
Olerydes opened her mouth to beg Thranduil to reconsider. He cut across her;
'Your reputation as a maiden is quite ruined, but few would fault you for rape,' he said it like it was an ugly word. 'They will fault me instead and I would sooner they did. You will marry,' he went on. 'To a man I choose. And if you want to indulge dangerous liaisons again, let your husband be the judge of it.'
Olerydes might have spoken but her throat filled up with tears. More than the threat of an arranged marriage was the crushing pain of her Father's disappointment. Would he wash his hands of her so easily? She said nothing because nothing was all she could say.
'Times are changing,' he sat forward and made to rise. 'But not fast enough for you, Iellig.'
Thranduil kissed her temple and was gone, his cloak breathing a silky sibilant on the floor.
000
Olerydes used the darkness like a cloak. She found the spare keys in her father's desk and she crept downstairs to turn the lock to Ronir's cell. Ronir stirred from where he was laying to stare at her.
'Olerydes. I did not mean to. I could not help it-'
'Run,' she said softly. 'Ada will kill you if you stay. He said so himself. So, run.'
'Olerydes, I-'
Olerydes lied as easily as her Father.
'Two more maids have came forth to name you their rapist. It seems you hunt a wider arc that I am able to provide alone. Run. Here is your sword,' she threw it at him.
A moment later he emerged carefully, his face white.
'That is more mercy than you can expect from my Father if he catches you. Use the south passage and take the boat moored downriver. I would not come back.'
'Olerydes-' he grabbed her hand, and for a moment she wanted to stop and take him into her arms and kiss him.
'I have your child inside me,' she whispered.
'We could get married-' he suggested, though his face was full of fear.
Olerydes looked him in the eyes. Her head screamed one thing while her heart cried another.
I loved you once, before you set me on this course and now it is I who cannot turn back, not you. I cannot believe it took me so long to see how selfish you really are. Do I even love you?
'I do not want to marry you,' she whispered. 'Go. Before I scream for help.'
000
Phe had noticed her Father's pallor and general lack of communication, but she had made no comment because none would be welcome. When she was told to dress herself and follow her family she did so without question and now she found herself standing at the foot of the throne with the sense that something was wrong. Lord Caduven was unusually pale. The King had donned his crown. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat and she could hardly bear to look at Thranduil. Tonight, I might be seeing him in private, she thought. And I would rather not think of that now.
Her Father spoke first with an extravagant bow.
'I am honored to hear of your decision, my King!'
Something told Phe to look at Thranduil. His eyes burned like cold flame and his skin was unusually pale, his lips gone thin. Right away she wondered if her Father had angered him in some way. Thranduil rose and descended like a blue star to address them. His staff clicked on the wood as he went, piercing the absolute silence and marking his steps, which were tortuously slow when so much was at stake.
'What have you heard?' he said. 'I have heard a few rumours too, but they are only that. Rumours. Come, my Lord, tell me what has honoured you so?'
Phe looked to her Father in surprise. Caduven stumbled over his words.
'Forgive me, sire...has there been no acceptance?'
'I do not recall having such a discussion! Did we? Did we speak of marriage?'
Phe's breath came shorter and her hands went cool and damp. So there had been an offense done!
'N-No, sire,' Caduven said quickly. 'But I thought - we heard that-'
Thranduil silenced him with a wave of his hand. 'You presume much, Caduven Lord of Plains,' he made the title sound derisive. 'I did not ask for a wife, and I will not take one. Where this rumour has come from I cannot say but it did not start with me.'
Phe stared at the floor. She felt vulnerable and ashamed under the scrutiny of the dozen or so royal faces who had come to watch the Kings revenge, not least his children. She could not decide whether she wanted to weep or not. Her Mother laid her hands on her shoulders silently. Disappointment warred with gratitude in her heart and then dulled to sadness. His refusal hurt. She could feel the gazes of the court, poking at what little honour she still had. She knew they would laugh at her for her naivete later. Suddenly she was ashamed to have thought of Thranduil at all.
Thranduil's shout startled all of them. Even Legolas looked up.
'Get thee hence! You have worn out your welcome, Lord Caduven.'
Then Thranduil smiled but it was cold and crisp.
'You will never have the Summer Isles, my lord. They are mine and I will hold them until the end of my days. Now get out,' he waved an elegant hand and guards stepped forward to evict them.
Caduven was white and his wife did not dare to speak. Phe evaded the guards and before they could catch her she threw herself down and knelt at Thranduil's feet. She heard the King draw a sharp breath but she did not dare look up to find out if he was angry or pleased.
'Pephennas!' Fae breathed, trying to push her way forward but Thranduil waved to the guards to stop, just for a moment.
Oh my lady, how small you look. Like a child.
'My lord, my Father meant no offense!'
Phe worked up the courage to look up. The King's eyes burned but she saw less of the anger from before in his face as he bent to offer her a hand.
'No, hiril vuin,' he said. 'YOU mean me no offense.'
Phe took his hand and Thranduil helped her to her feet without a word. She gazed into his beautiful face, her eyes full of tears of regret and whispered;
'Am I the cause, my lord?'
'No, you are not. I would have saved you this embarrassment, if I could. I do not know where this rumour began but I will chase it, my lady,' he glanced at Lord Caduven.
'Goheno nin,' she whispered and she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Thranduil stepped a bit closer. Phe found his skin as soft as silk. She could smell some sort of perfume and it woke her desire again. Oh my lord, why did you have to say no to me?
He could feel her warmth and it made him want to touch her, hear her gasp for him. Thranduil glanced at her Father. Caduven was seething but too afraid to stop the King from putting a gentle hand on the base of her back.
'Your lips are as warm as your heart,' he murmured, delighted to feel how soft her skin was against his cheek. Phe's skin tingled near her ear, where his breath brushed her. Suddenly she wanted to kiss him.
'I would have been honoured to be your bride,' she whispered, the heat in her voice went straight to Thranduil's trousers and tightened them. She went on and only inflamed that desire further; 'Though...I am hardly ready to marry again. Forgive him, I beg you!'
How long has it been since you had a man between your legs? Would you gasp for me, would you deny your desire and make me chase it, make me draw it from your body until you wrap yourself around me in surrender? Or would you kiss me like she used to, put your tongue in my mouth and show me how much you want me? He almost shuddered, and drew away from the girl.
'My lord!' he called, now smiling. 'Since you seek land, land will be given to you. The Wastes north of the Great Tree are yours to do with as you will and you will bow and thank me and then leave, or I will take more than your gratitude and give what you have given me. Trickery. And deceit.'
Pephennas knew what she had done. She looked into the Kings eyes and saw the laughter inside them. She bowed quickly and fled, before she could displease either King or Father further. Caduven did bow, his thick black brows knitted together and his hands unsteady. He did thank Thranduil and he did leave, and when he was far above, while their things were being packed by aides, he sat motionless and furious by the window.
The Wastes. A toxic place where no food could grow. The hundred leagues would be more of a curse than a blessing. It was space that Thranduil could do without protecting and since it had been a gift, it would now fall to Caduven to spare the men to patrol what few settlements existed there. Orcs would surely seek to use it for their foul practices. Now Caduven was burdened, not blessed.
When Phe walked in carrying a pot of hot water, Caduven rose like a thunderclap and struck her across the face. She stumbled back into a tapestry and caught herself barely on the back of a chair. She stood trembling in shock while he cried; 'What have you done! What did you say to offend him!?'
Pephennas felt tears and anger rising together. She held the bruised that was blossoming on her face and choked back;
'I said nothing! I did nothing-'
He struck her again, this time the other way. Phe's heart broke, in part because of his anger and in part because of Thranduil's refusal. How hard she had tried to impress the King. How close she had come to loving him. Caduven raised his hand again.
The hot water hissed as it hit his skin and he was still screaming when she ran from the room and flew down the steps. Behind her, she was sure she heard his footfalls. Then there was a sudden shove and the floor disappeared. She fancied she had tripped over her gown and the memory of the shove was quickly submerged and forgotten as if it was too painful to confess. She twisted, screaming, and plunged to the ground with a shriek.
A moment later, Leesha emerged from Thranduil's study. She stopped dead when she saw the tangled body on the ground and screamed. She stayed there in that way until guards emerged from every corner. Legolas poked his head out of his chambers. Then Olerydes came out and finally Lilia, who had been sulking in her room all afternoon. Legolas went sprinting down the stairs and when he reached the bottom he bent over Pephennas.
Thranduil came to see what the noise was about and found Leesha still screaming. When he saw what she was staring at, he swept her off the ground and covered her eyes with his hand. He handed her swiftly to a guard and ordered her taken upstairs to Lilia and Olerydes. He gazed up at the walkways, suspiciously, but there was no one in sight.
Pephennas was spread and tangled on the ground, her legs hooked one over the other and her face slack. Blood leaked onto her dress and she stared up blankly.
'Get back,' Legolas' voice parted the crowd like fish before a shark. To his surprise he saw her breathing shallowly. A pulse jumped in her throat.
'Fetch a healer!' he commanded. 'She breathes still! She may yet live.'
Legolas caught his Father's eyes. Neither one said what they suspected. Neither could really afford to be wrong. Inquiries would be made for a witness. Until then. Legolas fumed but he said nothing. An idiot could work out what had really happened here. When the healer arrived he pushed his way through the growing crowd to where the prince bent over Phe and said;
'A flat board to lay her on, and fabric to tie her down. Now, or she will lose her legs and maybe more, when we move her.'
000
Olerydes hid in her room until Legolas came to fetch her.
'Come,' he gestured to the door. 'Ada is angry, Olerydes.'
He made to open the door but then he turned to search her eyes.
'Why did you do it? Ronir deserved his punishment. He has been found guilty!'
Olerydes gazed into his face. He looked so much like their Father.
'I still love him,' she whispered. 'But I do not love what he has done. Legolas,' she caught his hand. 'Have I done wrong? I told him of maids...I-'
Legolas turned to face her fully and his pale eyes narrowed. He began to smile, more like the brother he had been as a child and less like the Prince.
'Tell me more? What did you do?' he asked her in a voice eerily reminiscent of the one he might have used when they were children, cooking up mischief together. Olerydes tried to hide her smile and failed.
'I told him that maids have accused him of rape,' she admitted.
Legolas tried to keep a straight face but then he laughed.
'You made him run, in fear of Ada,' he was grinning. 'I did not know you could be so vengeful!'
Olerydes shrugged.
'It will be worth my punishment,' she said. 'One day he will come back. By then...perhaps Ada will have forgiven him. It was...not entirely rape, brother. Not some of the times anyway.'
'Yes, we had figured that much out,' he nodded. 'You should have been more careful. As I am.'
'Legolas, most of your lovers are not women,' she said.
He blushed slightly. Then he shrugged.
'Some are,' he sounded a little defensive.
'I think...Ronir became ill. Do you remember when he banged his head on patrol? He changed, he became more violent, rougher.'
'Yes,' Legolas nodded. He thought about that for a moment and wondered if the source of Ronir's troubles at work had been a head injury. He would have to speak to Thranduil about that.
Olerydes was taken downstairs to face her Father. When she told him, haltingly of what she had done, Thranduil hid what must have been a smirk behind his hand. Throwing out Lord Caduven had improved his mood somewhat, and saved him a lengthy visitation and descent into vegetarianism. Indeed his first meal on their leaving had been a roast chicken. He felt full and content. He could still taste the grease on his palate and it delighted him. Roast chicken reminded him so of his own Mother, who had always enjoyed picking the carcass clean with her fingers. She would have chewed the knuckles too, but Thranduil considered himself a little bit above that.
Legolas kept his head down lest their Father notice his amusement. Thranduil handed the sword that he had been waiting to use on Ronir to an aide and rose. He flowed down the steps and stood before his eldest daughter.
'It seems my daughter has approved her own punishment. I will find an adequate forfeit for you to perform.'
Thranduil turned to look at Legolas.
'And you!' he said loudly. 'Wipe that smile off your face this instant. Did you have a part in this too?'
'No!' Olerydes said quickly. 'Legolas did nothing. It was my doing.'
Thranduil made a sound like a snort.
'I hope Ronir runs as quickly as he works!' the King said as he swept past her, but Olerydes felt there was little real malice in him now. Perhaps he will calm down in time. Thranduil left the room, and the atmosphere lightened.

Translations
Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin
My Lady - Hiril Vuin
My lord - Hir vuin
My son = Ionneg
My daughter = Iellig
Curses! = Rhaich!
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Frozen Sun