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A liaison in the Great Greenwood	By : Azukiel Category: +Third Age > Het - Male/Female Views: 7953 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any copyright to the Tolkien/ Middle-Earth fandom, nor to any of his canon characters or languages. I do not make any money from this fanfiction. Original characters however, are my property.

Chapter List
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A sudden rapping at the door snapped Adlanniel out of her daze. Her mind felt weighted by what she had witnessed earlier but she was clear enough to know who was at her door. In fact, she was glad.
    “Nana, you are here.” Her voice was relieved as she opened the door.
    Celebrian gave a warm and gentle smile. “Yes, pinig, I am here.” She opened her arms and wrapped them tenderly around her daughter, feeling the thuds of the gwannun as they tried to kick her away. She laughed fondly and placed her hands on her daughter’s small bulge. “They grow with every passing day.”
    “Yes,” Adlanniel smiled affectionately. “They grow strong like their father.”
    Celebrian smiled with forced sincerity. “Come, let us sit. We have a lot to talk about.” She closed the door behind her and placing her hand gently on Adlanniel’s upper arm, led her over to the sofa by the hearth.
    “How have you been since we last met so long ago, how is your pregnancy progressing?” She asked as she poured some tea from the porcelain set that sat upon the carved mahogany dresser by the sofa.
    “I have been…” Adlanniel felt a dryness rasp at her throat and gave a weak smile. “I have been well.” She lied. “As you know from my letters, I am being treated very well here.” She sipped at the tea her mother handed to her. “Perhaps too well…” She added absentmindedly.
    Celebrian too sipped her tea and watched her daughter from the edge of the cup.
    “Do you mean like a princess?” She asked then, knowingly. “Because you are one, my dear. Thranduil is king, Legolas is a prince and you are soon to be his officiated wife, which does make you royalty. You are from a noble house after all so it is only appropriate that you be treated with utmost esteem.”
    “Perhaps…” Adlanniel nodded, sipping more of her tea. “How was your journey here? I had no idea you were planning on coming.”
    “The journey was cold and a little arduous, but I had to come here with as much haste as I could afford.”
    Adlanniel looked to her, confused, but her gut pained suddenly.
    Celebrian smiled and placed her cup on the table before them. “Have you heard from Legolas recently?” She asked then, changing the topic.
    “I have, he is well and is working towards a treaty of peace with the Easterlings. Though he is unsure whether or not it will come to pass. He has hunting groups scaling the south of the forest for any of the enemy who may be hiding here, and Thranduil’s patrols often meet up with them which means we can receive word quickly despite the snows. I look forward to seeing him again, though I wish I were back at the camp with him...”
    “Do you?” Celebrian asked casually, studying her daughter with her crystal eyes.
    Adlanniel felt her muscles tense, but she nodded with a meek smile. “Where else would I want to be, besides by my love?”

    “What do you enjoy most about living in a great forest palace such as this?” Her mother asked then without hesitation, the gentle, yet almost feigned smile still upon her face.
    “I love the views here, they remind me of the views back home in the Valley. And the forest here is teeming with life, just like the less dense forests of home. I love to walk the paths through the forest here, those that are patrolled by the king’s guards of course, and I enjoy walking alongside the river, which is almost no different to the Brunien. The palace itself is great and vast and is a masterpiece of our elven heritage. I enjoy exploring its many halls and gardens.”
    Celebrian’s smile became more tender as her daughter spoke, it did warm her heart to listen to her daughter speak with such affection of her surroundings. Yet her daughter’s affections for another still stuck to the back of her mind.
    “And how is the food?” Celebrian grinned then, she did not yet want to reveal the real truth as to why she was there.
    “We have game meat almost every night!” Adlanniel replied, chuckling. “The essence of the forest is put into every dish.”
    “I can imagine.” Celebrian too chuckled. “I remember my last dish here, and thinking about how wonderful it was due to the influences of the surrounding ocean of trees.”
    “But I do not think you are here for the food, are you naneth?”
    Celebrian’s eyes then became stern and their crystal hue darkened. “You are right, I am not.” She replied. “I was hoping we could talk more of lighter days, but it seems that darkness has seeped into them as of late.”
    “Well with the battles right on our doorstep…”
    “You know, pinig, that I was not referring to that.”
    Adlanniel looked at her mother incredulously. “Then what were you referring to?”
    “I think you know.”
    “I think I do not.” Adlanniel frowned defensively.

    “Adlanniel, my dear daughter. You do not need to build up a wall around yourself. I already know everything.”
    Adlanniel paled and felt sick to her stomach as the bile crept up her throat. “Everything?” Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.
    Celebrian placed her hands upon her daughter’s. “I am here for you Adlanniel. You know of my gift, and I saw some of your visions. They frightened me, as I am sure they frightened you.”
    Adlanniel sighed inwardly with relief, it were only her visions her mother was concerned about. “What did you see nana?”
    “‘A wolf among the sheep, a viper among lilies.’” She repeated the exact same words she had said to the Elvenking earlier. Adlanniel stared at her, her body beginning to quiver.
    “Words from the queen…”
    “Yes, a metaphor, a riddle. We always used to make such riddles as girls, always made them to confuse those we loved.”
    “Did you use them against ada?” Adlanniel smiled at the thought.
    “Sometimes, but I would use them more against the first I loved, before I had known your father well.”
    Adlanniel looked to her, feigning surprise and confusion.
    “The mischief he and I would get into together, the heated passion we used to make… and such passion it was, like a fierce storm on the horizon.” She rose her eyes to look into her daughter’s, whose gaze was fixated on her, her face sallow and her expression a mixture of whirling emotions.
    “When I was forced to leave him I desired his touch for such a long time… such wanton passion and fierce hunger cannot be forgotten.” She continued, letting out a sigh as she looked into the nearby mirror. “It took many years for me to recover from the love he had had for me and I for him, and it was not until I met your father that I was slowly able to fall in love again. But for some time, I still occasionally craved that passion I had once had with my first love; the need to be engulfed by such an aura at times felt incessant.” She looked up at her daughter again, her eyes now sullen and sympathetic. “But you know what it is like to feel such a pain, to have experienced such a heat only to have it suddenly taken away from you. Though in your case, the viper is still slithering through the lilies.”
    Adlanniel’s eyes widened. “Why do you speak to me now in riddles nana? Why have you told me such things?”
    “You know of what I speak, pinig, and you know why I have told you. I know the truth Adlanniel, Thranduil told me everything.”

    Once more the rancid need to vomit filled Adlanniel’s stomach. She could not help but look away, tears of shame burning her eyes. Her heart almost leapt into her throat when she felt the soft, gentle touch against her hands again.
    “I do not know what you are speaking of naneth. The king has not been in his right mind since he took on the morgul poison.”
    “Adlanniel, look at me.” Her mother began firmly. “As I said, I am here for you. There is no need for these lies that have been going on for so long. You do not need to build up your defences around me, as I have already said. I am not here to chide either of you.”
    “Then why have you come?” Adlanniel spat, her face painted with anger.
    “To support my daughter through this hard time, to support my daughter whom I love and miss so much.” Celebrian replied calmly, her expression compassionate and benign.
    Adlanniel stared at her mother for a long, pained moment. “Oh naneth it has been so terrible.” She then broke down in tears and fell into her mother’s opened arms.
    “I know it has been, my darling, for the both of you as I have clearly seen.”
    “He has been so cruel to me…”
    “I know he has been, he told me…”
    “Yes, he told you everything.” Adlanniel spat bitterly.
    “My darling daughter, you know he does not mean to be like that. It is his way of building up his walls, of keeping you away from him so that you both can resist temptation.”
    “You are right…” Adlanniel sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “But these days we can barely hold a civil conversation. Every time we are in the same vicinity the tension is suffocating, and yet we both crave each other like… like as if the other is the very air we breathe!”
    “You both lust after each other feverishly for reasons that he also explained, so I do understand why you are both struggling to shake off such feelings. It is not easy, especially being within the same realm. I do understand your struggles and that is the other reason I have come here, to take you home so you are both away from temptation; so you both can heal once the truth is revealed to the one you both truly love.”
    “Legolas…” Adlanniel’s voice trailed off then, fresh tears stinging at her eyes.
    “Yes, the prince must know the truth. ‘Fill the Chalice of Truth. Without the Chalice to be filled, no Light can be spread again…’”
    “The words of the Queen in our vision. It speaks the truth, and I will tell Legolas upon his return.”
    “You both will tell him.” Celebrian corrected. “It is a web you both have woven, and one you must both unravel.”

    Adlanniel nodded slowly. “Legolas will hate me, I may as well dive the dagger into my heart now.”
    Celebrian frowned and gripped her daughter’s hands tighter. “Do not speak such words Adlanniel. Indeed the prince will hurt and be furious, but he could never hate you, even if he speaks such words.”
    “I know I, I mean we, must tell him but I do not think I can handle seeing his heart break.”
    “You must stay strong Adlanniel, for like the Queen said, the Light cannot shine again without the truth.”
    Adlanniel then lowered her head into her palms, sobbing quietly. “It is such a mess, nana…” She whined, feeling sorry for her beloved one, and angry at the one who gave him life.
    Yet, how could she remain angered at the Elvenking? He too was suffering just as much as she; evident through his behaviour towards her. As her mother had said, it were his wall which he did not, under any circumstance, want torn down even though it had been earlier. ‘He should have built it sooner… she thought to herself. Not now, after the milk has been spilt…’
    Celebrian put her arm around her daughter protectively. “I know it is hard, iellig. I wish I could remove this burden of yours and carry it myself, but I cannot.”

    “Of course you would like to be in my place!” Adlanniel snapped without giving it any thought. “I saw how happy you were in his arms today!”
    Celebrian looked to her in shock. “I was merely comforting him. You are not the only one in pain. He was an absolute mess and completely unlike himself.”
    “You were far more than comforting him!” Adlanniel retorted. “You have never been that affectionate towards ada.”
    “Now you are speaking nonsense!” Celebrian chided her daughter. “Jealousy is speaking from you, and it is not justified; not even close!”
    Adlanniel lowered her head then and stifled a painful sob. “Goheno nin, nana… I do not know what is happening to me.”
    Celebrian stroked her daughter's hair affectionately. “Of course I forgive you, my darling. I just do not want you to feel this way, because you know well how much I love and adore ada.” She sighed. “I was in love with Thranduil once, but now he is merely a dear friend. The one I have to comfort when I see him suffer.”
    “Of course you do.” Adlanniel replied bitterly. “So this is what will happen to me? Will I become a 'mere friend', despite all the intimacy we had shared?”
    “Better to be friends than enemies, pinig.” Celebrian sighed heavily again. “It will be hard for the both of you, and this is why I wish to take you back home. The distance can ease such pain, though it will not wash it away entirely. And taking the gwannun you carry into consideration, we have to protect you from as much pain as we can.”
    Adlanniel looked up at her mother. “Nana, did Thranduil… Did he tell you that one of the gwannun…”
    Celebrian nodded before Adlanniel finished, sensing her daughter would not be able to say the words of Thranduil's paternity. “He did.”
    “Are you not going to say anything?” Adlanniel asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
    Celebrian shook her head. “There is nothing left to be said about this topic, iellig. It has been done. You will bring his child into this world and you will love and protect it together with your husband. I will do everything I can to shield the origin of this child from Legolas, and, if possible, I will teach you to create such a shield as well.” Celebrian embraced her daughter once more. “You are my daughter, Adlanniel, and I would do anything to protect you. You must know that.”
   “Of course I do, nana.” Adlanniel wept into her mother’s arms then.
   Celebrian stroked her daughter’s hair once more and looked out the window at the waning light of the day.
                                                          ~~~~~

   The ethereal glow of vines, flowers and leaves once more lit up the stone-carved room as he entered, the giant doors of hewn rock sliding closed behind him. Though it were nightfall, the usual shaft of light lit up the monument of his wife, bathing her marble face with an illuminating brilliance. Slowly, almost hesitantly he approached, clutching the roses from her most favoured shrub, their delicate petals almost wilting. Sighing deeply he placed them into her statue’s hands, gazing down at her face, his heart beating wildly within his chest, threatening to tear itself asunder.
   Her face, so smooth to his fingers, just as her skin had once been each time they had afforded each other a sweet touch. Yet the marble was lifeless and cold, reminding him of the day her body had been brought back to him, the warmth of which had escaped her. That day her chest no longer rose and fell with her breath, her lips no longer spoke her sweet voice, her gaze no longer fell upon him. That day, he had lost his entire world.
   ‘With her went your sanity. You have been spiralling down into the depths since her death. You cannot face any form of discourse of reason. You have become the monster you feared.’

   The cry that escaped his lips echoed through the domed tomb as he fell to his knees. In a sobbing heap he crawled to her sarcophagus, sprawling himself over her carved likeness. Alas it remained but stone; cold and unforgiving under his body as he mourned, his flooding tears trickling along the crevices of her chiseled face.
“Ánillo avatyare, melda tári. Ánillo avatyare…” His weeping was relentless as he stroked the side of her stilled face. “I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but know how so very remorseful I am for what I have done. I have betrayed everything that we held dear, everything that was close to our hearts - our love, our passion, our marriage, our son...all of it. And for what? For naught! I threw it all away for a need I had thought was fuelled by my loss of you, but it were nothing but my stupidity and lust! I have done this, and within this I have destroyed the lives of two innocents, two whom I hold so dear. I have surely ripped them asunder, and I will endure all punishments known to Eru to repent for what I have done to them, and to you. I have hurt so many with this, and I behave like an utter fool. I am an abomination of our kind, and not fit to rule our great people.”

  Tears streamed down her face as she stood in the entrance of the tomb, watching him painfully lament over his spouse’s image. Every word he spoke circulated through her mind like a storm, making her shudder not only from the freezing mists of the river behind her. In so much emotional agony was he then, he had not noticed her presence as she entered, nor had he heard the doors once again grind to a close. Yet she stood in the shadows of the doorway, watching him spill his pain, a pain they both equally shared.

  Sindarin - English
    naneth / nana - mother / mum
    pinig - little one
    gwannun - twins
    iellig - daughter
    ada - dad
    Goheno nin - forgive me

    Ánillo avatyare, melda tári - Forgive me, my beloved queen (Quenya)
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A liaison in the Great Greenwood