Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

A Frozen Sun	By : Esequell Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Hobbit, The Views: 2546 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
6. For The Dead
The door to Thranduil's study swung shut with a soft pop behind Legolas. He found his Father rolling up his sleeves beside the spider tank.
'Ada? You sent for me?'
Thranduil reached into a rolled cloth and drew out a pair of tongs. He tested their mechanism and then used them to gesture to the giant funnel web within which the spider was hiding.
'Yes. I require the assistance of a steady pair of hands. You are to hold her for me.'
'The Ungol?'
Thranduil nodded.
Legolas licked his lips a little nervously as Thranduil grasped the spider and bought her screeching and writhing from the tank still covered in her web. She twisted to snap as his hands and stabbed furiously with her stinger. Legolas seized her by her legs and found her flesh fat and spongy. He pressed her down on the table where she could do no harm. His skin prickled with the unpleasantness of hers. She was hairy, strong and flexible enough to almost reach him with her poison. He had the eerie sense that the Ungol was watching him, clever and sly, waiting for a chance to strike when his guard was down. That was a quality he did not like in the animal. He worried that Thranduil was making a mistake. He leaned forward to voice his suspicion;
'You would bind to her. It is dangerous. What if her will is stronger than yours?'
Thranduil shook his head.
'She is no dragon, Legolas.'
Thranduil's mirage wavered like a heat haze about his cheek. Legolas gazed at it. He had only found out by accident, when one day he had walked in on Duven and the King when he was still a boy. Thranduil had hidden his face and shouted at his son to leave. Legolas could still feel how much that had hurt him. Afterwards, Thranduil had come to find him and guilty for his harsh tone he had explained to Legolas that his Ada had been hurt by a fire serpent but still he refused to show his son, or indeed any of his children, the extent of his injury.
'I feel her evil!' Legolas insisted.
'As do I,' Thranduil agreed. 'But this is very important.'
The King found the ridges in the ugly skull beneath her soft, awful flesh and put his fingertips upon them.
'I will be fine, Legolas.'
Thranduil bent down to look into the spiders eyes. His eyelids fluttered closed. For quite a long time, Legolas wondered if he was going to do anything at all and then his face became slack and his eyes moved back and forth as though he were searching for something in the depths of his mind. The Ungol redoubled her efforts to be free. Legolas pressed down with all his strength yet still she bucked under his weight. He could feel the pulsing heart of the beast in his hands. He sensed the terrible flow of ill will that coursed through her body. Then Thranduil recoiled with a hiss. He broke free of the spider and clutched his own head as if his very brain had caught on fire.
'Ada-!' Legolas cried.
Thranduil opened his eyes. His breath was unsteady, his skin on fire. He could feel the spiders mind as though they were one. Her world was made of warmth and movement. For long, anxious seconds he struggled to acclimatise to the sensations and then before the open bridge could fail and die, he grabbed the spider a second time and forced his own consciousness through the gate and into her mind.
She fell still and calm.
'Never have I felt such power,' the King breathed as he gazed into her eyes again. 'But your power is nothing next to mine. Daeben,' He named the beast. 'You will be mine. You will protect our family. Release her, Legolas.'
'Ada-' Legolas shook his head and wet his lips but Thranduil insisted. So Legolas released the Ungol and took up his bow. Daeben gathered her strength and stood. Legolas nocked an arrow. He waited with it drawn for the inevitable lunge but the Ungol did not move except to look around as though she was seeing the world for the first time. Legolas shook his head is disbelief.
'It will not last,' he said doubtfully.
Thranduil did not seem to be listening. 'Daeben is for Anion. To end his fear.'
Legolas sighted along the arrow.
'I do not like this, Ada. She is evil, she will not tame. Anion will not want her and I do not want her loose when I am sleeping.'
'He will change his mind,' Thranduil sounded certain. 'She will be in her tank when we sleep.'
Legolas let the bowstring go slack but he knew that he could draw it again more quickly than Daeben could strike.
'If the binding fails?' Legolas asked sensibly.
'It will not fail,' Thranduil stood and Daeben set about cleaning her face with her feeler arms. He took a few steps away and softly said; 'Come, Daeben.'
Daeben dropped off the table and scuttled towards him with a turn of speed that Legolas found frightening.
Around the children she will be deadly. What madness is this? Has Ada lost his mind!?
Daeben put her two front legs on Thranduil's overcoat like a dog begging to be petted. Legolas drew the arrow back but Thranduil waved a hand to pause him.
'No, Legolas. Wait.'
Thranduil bent to touch her. He offered his palm and she came to taste him and memorise his scent. Her feeler arms were quite gentle, he found, and lined with tiny hairs to detect heat and movement. He found her dark and strange to behold and weird to touch, even after the binding, but not so ill-minded now. She was somewhat more interested in that outside her small world of prey and sleep and shelter.
He touched her head again to reinforce the binding. She did not flinch from the presence of his mind in hers. The bridge burned bright and hot and open.
'You will be calm,' he told her. 'And very gentle with Anion. As though he is your own spiderling. Come.'
Legolas followed too, his arrow ready and his eyes upon the Ungol that ran alongside the King. If his Father had gone mad then surely it was his job to protect him from himself. Thranduil strode through the maze of roots toward the school room and called for Anion. A mere gesture from Thranduil and the spider curled herself up obediently. She waited like that until Anion emerged to see what his Father wanted.
'Ada?' Anion started to say, then Thranduil pointed slowly to the curled Ungol.
'Come here, Anion,' he instructed, but Anion was white with fear. He backed toward the schoolroom door. Legolas pitied him. Anion looked as if his Ada had just committed the ultimate act of betrayal against him.
Thranduil sank before the boy and Daeben remained tightly curled. Legolas did not take his eyes off her, nor relax his bow far. Though holding it drawn did hurt his shoulder he would not relent until he was certain that the Ungol bore them no ill will.
Thranduil rested on one knee and took Anions shaking hand in his. He smiled reassuringly. He was not surprised to see that the boy was too frightened to smile back.
'Ada-' it came out as a whisper, almost a sob. Too quiet and terrified, a plea for escape. Thranduil said softly;
'She is a gift, my boy. She is not dangerous. I have tamed her for you. She will neither bite nor sting. She is to protect you from her own kind. You and Leesha, but you shall have command of her because you are older.'
Anion shook his head wordlessly. Thranduil reached slowly for the boys neck and drew him down to sit upon his bent knee. Slowly he rubbed little circles into Anion's nape. He spoke gentle words until Anion had nearly forgotten the spider behind them and begun to relax into his Father's chest.
'Trust me, my boy,' Thranduil breathed into his ear.
Then slowly he found the spots on Anion's skull and slid his fingers into place. Legolas covered his mouth with his hand. Now he remembered it! Once when he was very young, he had been wary of his Father's horse. So wary that Legolas would hide behind his Mother and refuse to come forward to bid Thranduil goodbye. Legolas could still feel the edges of Thranduil's mind, the warmth of his fingertips, the way he placed his son calmly on his mount and handed him the reins, as if Legolas had never minded horses at all!
Anion became unnaturally still and silent. A few long moments passed and then the King started suddenly and tightened his hold protectively. After a long, tense few seconds he opened his crystalline eyes to gaze into Anions face and smiled warmly.
Anion reached for the Kings face and touched his skin, then his ear as though he was in a daze.
Lovestruck, Legolas realised. He is as lovestruck as I am for Ada and now it is clear why we feel this way!
If Anion wondered what had happened to him he did not say so. Suddenly he felt as if Thranduil and only Thranduil really understood him. Then Anion peered over his Fathers shoulder. Slowly he stood to look. Holding Anions waist with both hands, Thranduil spoke as if the boy had never been afraid of a spider in his whole life.
'There is Daeben. She is your little shadow. Go and play with her.'
Legolas hid a gasp as Anion approached the Ungol, and Thranduil whispered to her fiercely; 'Love him.'
Daeben uncurled her legs and stood slowly. At first she was a little hesitant until Anion crouched to look at her. Then she put her foreleg on his boot and gazed at him curiously. Anion smiled strangely. He felt as if he has known this animal all his life but he could not remember ever playing with her before. He decided it did not matter. He offered his hand and she tasted him delicately. Then he walked away slowly with his Ungol in tow.
Legolas was breathless by the time it was over. He passed by his Father with a glance at his face, pursuing the boy.
'Go, if it pleases you,' said Thranduil, in the fashion of one giving permission for the entirely unnecessary.
For the rest of the day, Legolas followed Anion like a second shadow, his bow ready and an arrow in his hand but Daeben did not seem interested in eating him. Legolas wondered if anyone would believe what he had witnessed even if he could find words to explain it. Still he followed Anion, wary.
000
Phe was nervous to come before the King again but he had sent for her specifically and so she had little choice. She walked with the aid of a stick to his private dining room. Her increasing independence brightened her spirits a great deal and made her feel much more capable and hopeful. She found Thranduil sitting beneath the high arch of an ornate window, amidst a pile of red and orange cushions. He gazed out at the last minutes of the dying day. Phe's cane clicked on the dark wood floor. He did not turn his head but she felt he was aware of her.
'My lady,' he murmured. 'I was not sure that you would come.'
'Well-' she said softly. 'It is hard to avoid an order from the King, my lord.'
'You may leave if it pleases you, regardless of my command,' he said evenly.
Phe smiled to herself. It was pleasant indeed to be offered the freedom of the evening.
'That is kind of you my lord, but I will stay, if it please you.'
Thranduil turned his head slowly and the liquid light of dusk ran through his hair like molten gold. He smiled softly and rose to greet her with a bow.
'My lord,' she returned it. Thranduil came softly to stand before her.
'I must apologise,' he smiled softly.
He looks like a guilty little boy! Phe's breath came faster with nervousness and desire.
'For the pool-' Phe nodded, embarrassed.
'Yes. I did not realise you were bathing. I heard your scream and I could not leave your safety to chance.'
The warmth of his kiss was fresh in her memory. Now that she was near him again she desired nothing more than another kiss. She noticed that he wore his sword. She supposed that everyone in Sindaroth was on edge since the infestation.
'I am grateful that you came to help us,' Phe gazed up. She found him thoughtful and soft about the face. Suddenly she felt a burning urge to hold him, to have him wrap his arms around her in return.
'Once the Greenwood was a most beautiful place. It grieves me to see it reduced so. Do not be embarrassed, my lady,' his voice dropped. 'The vision I saw will haunt my dreams.'
Phe's gaze snapped to his, her skin suddenly alight and her insides aching with desire. She understood his heavy eyes and deeper breathing. She wanted to touch him as much as he desired her.
'I am condemned to see it again and again whenever I close my eyes. I have rarely wanted to be condemned before.'
Phe blushed, her whole body on the edge of arousal the likes of which she had never felt. It was if the very air between them would ignite. She felt as if it would incinerate her clothes and compel them to touch here and now, on the floor if need be.
Thranduil gestured to her seat, as clearly flustered and warm as she but without the confidence to risk a second rejection. Phe sat.
Thranduil's nape tingled in the way it was apt to do whenever he was eager to be touched. The hairs on his skin all stood to attention, as did his manhood. It was becoming distracting so he changed the subject quickly;
'We have found tunnels, my lady. It seems there is an imperfection in the rock face that we had not noticed before now. Some kind of subsidence. Perhaps we will have to tear the foundations away and rebuild that wing. That is how the spiders have gained access. Our warding has never reached underground but now that has been remedied.'
'So they will stop coming in?' Phe looked hopeful. 'I do so hate them now. Just the thought of that day sends me into a panic!'
'That is my hope. It seems that Leesha may have used one of the tunnels to reach the woods. I have sent her to begin training with a blade. She must be able to defend herself.'
'But she is so young!'
'Yes. She is. She has well hidden, ill feelings towards me, even though I am almost her Father now. She does not intend to stay here, I can feel it in her. She wishes a return to her homeland but there is nothing left there except ash and rubble and perhaps the bones of her parents. My lady, when you are stronger I would like you to learn yourself.'
Phe smiled suddenly.
'Truly, my lord?'
A nod.
'Oh, my Father would certainly lay an egg if he knew, but I would love to learn to fight! I have been shown how to use a knife but I have always wished I could shoot a bow, too.'
Thranduil's smile broadened as if he approved greatly of her enthusiasm.
'Then you will,' he said. 'I will see to it that you receive your lessons from the very best!'
Aides brought in their feast and set it down in steaming bowls. Phe was very happy to see it. She had been hungry for some time and food would certainly distract her from the inconvenient wetness between her thighs. Silently they helped themselves.
'I think I will have to take Leesha to her homeland,' Thranduil said after a few minutes. 'She must be shown that there is no way back to her old life. It is unkind to expose her innocence to such horror but if it will save her life then it must be done. That girl is so wilful.'
'You have such a way with her, my lord. You are patient! Instead of threatening her you seek to show her why she cannot leave? I wish my Father had been so understanding with me! Leesha is very lucky.'
Phe was sure that Thranduil had gone a little bit pink around the ears.
'When I was a boy, my Father set rules that I and my sisters did not dare to break. I have told you before that Oropher had a gentleness but he fought with it as one would fight a sickness. He was also a disciplined man who taught his children to be the same. He did not honour me with the reasons for his restrictions. So, in time I became difficult and resentful. It seemed he made his rules just to spite me. I tested him and we argued often. I regret it now but there is nothing to be done for that.'
Phe put half a potato in her mouth.
'I understand, my lord. You wish to be different.'
'I am different,' he said. 'Leesha is no fool as I am sure you have noticed by now. She can keep secrets. She is quiet and fast. She is brave and she knows very well how to use her innocent eyes to sway me. I wish her to grow up strong and true and to know her own mind.'
Suddenly Phe saw why his children were so willful and why they spoke to him so openly. She had often wondered if he had ever spanked them for misbehaviour at all. Once she had been Olerydes argue with him and Phe had thought that if she had addressed her Father in such a way, he would have bruised her face for impudence.
Legolas clearly idolised him and Thranduil had a way with the boy that Phe was sure was the most important relationship in his life. She wondered if he showed the same care and devotion to a wife.
'My lady?' his voice shook her from her thoughts. She saw that she had stopped eating.
'Forgive me,' she finally smiled at him. 'I was just thinking that I am envious. Ada does not explain himself, or seem to care how I feel. In fact, my lord, I am not sure he knows I do.'
Thranduil sipped his wine. It had a hot, sweet taste.
'Hiril vuin. I saw that in him and it is why I did not buy you. Courtesans can be bribed, whores can be paid, ladies of the court can be tempted into my bed with a few jewels and so long as I give them release they will crawl back between my sheets any time I beckon,' a rakish smile crossed his face.
Phe flushed pink anew and devoted herself to dividing up some salad to hide it. He went on; 'But friends cannot be bought and conversations do not run so smoothly when you must inspire them with gold.'
'You think me a friend?' she blurted.
Thranduil's soft smile and gentle gaze suggested that he did feel that way. He inclined his head.
'If you wish it I will think so,' he said. 'But you are also my daughters friends and so of interest to me. I must say that I got there before Olerydes! In you I saw potential. Since the departure of your parents you have begun to blossom. In place of a ruined daughter I see a lovely flower, beginning to want the sun.'
Phe felt tears rush up her throat and at first she tried to push them down and ignore them but they were stronger than she had hoped. She reeled from his gentleness and marveled at how he saw more value in her beyond her value in marriage or the children she could bear. Suddenly they spilled over and the King laughed.
Phe pushed her chair back and rose to flee in shame but before she could get six steps the King caught her wrist. He handed her a napkin from the table. At first she was horrified that he seemed so amused by her tears but then he laid both hands on her elbows and rubbed gently. His hands pushed warmth into her skin. Ahe almost wished that he would stop, because like the first time they had met his presence overwhelmed her defenses and opened her heart. He watched her without a word, until;
'Goheno nin-' he chuckled. 'I have hit a sore nerve, my lady. I have a gift for that. When I inherited my crown I also came by a role that has been reinforced by countless generations of Kings. It is my heart that holds this realm together.'
'You do have insight,' she agreed softly.
'It is supposed to help you as it helps my kin,' he confided quietly. 'Are they joyful tears? Or have I caused you sorrow?'
'Few people have given me worth beyond what is expected of me in marriage. I have always been told not to speak freely, not to let others see what I feel-' Phe swallowed around a rough-edged lump. Her tone dropped into frustration that ran so deep that Thranduil with his delicate senses could easily discern her anger.
'When I am here I feel as if the opposite is expected of me. It feels simply wonderful, as though I have been hungry for this understanding for far too long.'
He said; 'You have deep feelings, which you do not show. As do I. It is why I invited you into my home and allowed my children to befriend you.'
His magnetic gaze he drew her deeper into a world of secrets, which she felt she was close to discovering. Which he might soon uncover for her. Suddenly she wondered if he loved her, if his heart was opening as hers was. She was too afraid of his rejection to ask him, or to show her own growing fondness in case she was mistaken.
'Come and eat with me, my lady. Our meal is not done and I desire your company.'
Phe did so, her tears spent and her heart tender. She actually felt a little bruised, as though some deep and meaningful feeling had been dragged out of her deep self and exposed long before she was ready to face it. Thranduil ate in silence for a few minutes and she watched how methodically he divided up his food.
'I am sure your Father will be wanting you home soon, my lady. You have been with us much longer than expected.'
'It is good of you to say so, hir vuin, but I do not think my Father will be so keen. I have shamed him and he will be angry with me. I feel he will make me match soon, and I suppose I should be grateful, but I dread that news more than any other. It is not what I want.'
'Then what do you want, hiril vuin? Most elven ladies dream of a good home and a strong, lasting husband,' he smiled softly. 'And many, energetic children.'
Phe shook her head.
'I would like a cottage, my lord. In a thick, green forest where I can ride my horse and when I meet an elf I love, perhaps one day I will teach children there. I wish to be free! Freedom can only happen for a woman when she is either married, or given to the protection of a greater power. I would trust my life to the forest and there build a little house where I can live in peace with myself.'
Thranduil sipped his wine thoughtfully.
'Well...have you any mind for business, hiril vuin? Has it not occurred to you to ask me for the means? I have plenty of gems and trinkets and certainly it would only take one of them would buy you a cottage!'
Phe's smile faltered a bit. 'Hir vuin, I could not ask you that. They are not mine, nor do I have any claim to them.'
Thranduil's gaze intensified. Phe sensed he was watching her closely. She was not sure what to do for the best.
He said; 'You are a Lords daughter. Riches will one day be yours by right. You should get used to them. I have plenty and I will certainly not miss a few trinkets. What is your favourite stone and colour?'
Phe held up both her hands to stop him in his tracks.
Her fright is endearing and so sweet. I will not let him reclaim her, not until I am certain that Lord Caduven is no murderer.
'No, my lord, really that is not necessary. I could not take them. I have never desired riches, just a simple life and I would not take what I have not earned.'
'But ladies do not earn,' he leaned back. 'They marry. You said so yourself. Occasionally they meet a King who could be of service to their dream. So ask. I insist you do.'
Phe cast her eyes down to her plate.
'My lord. If you insist upon a gift then I would like a single sapphire.'
'Only one? And not even the brightest of gems. What can you be thinking when I have diamonds? Why so modest?'
'I need only one,' she said quickly. 'I would wrap it in a handkerchief, my lord. I would sell it for a cottage and so gain my freedom.'
'And afterwards, how will you eat and buy cattle and pigs for farming?'
'I would do without milk and I do not eat meat. I would grow vegetables in the woods.'
Thranduil was silent. Then suddenly, he laughed. It was a musical sound that made her tingle and fidget with delight.
'I have never heard such innocence! You do not have a head for business. You do not eat the animals my lady, you sell them to someone else to eat! Then you buy with the money things to decorate your house, items which you cannot grow, clothing. It matters not, you will have a sapphire.'
Phe did not know what to say. In the end she bowed her head rather uncomfortably and said;
'I am in your debt, my lord.'
'No, there is no debt. It is a gift.'
They finished their meal in amicable silence. When she was done, the King gave her a few minutes to rest and then he pushed his chair back from the table and came to offer her his hand.
Phe settled amongst the cushions of the beautiful bay window and saw that the stars had come out. Thranduil came to sit beside her and she turned her body so that she could enjoy the sight of his face and eyes. For some time the King merely gazed at her in silence. She felt as though he must be enjoying her or he would certainly have taken his leave by now. She was also enjoying him, especially his attention. It filled a void in her heart.
'I do not buy you with my gift,' he said then, quietly.
Phe dropped her gaze and stared at the floor.
'I understand, my lord. I am glad you do not.'
A warm finger caught her chin and tilted her head.
'No. Hiril vuin,' he breathed a soft sigh through his nose as he tended to when he was frustrated. He gestured to his own face with his hand. 'Take off this mask, I grow tired of seeing it.'
Phe licked her lips. 'I do not understand-'
'This mask you wear!' he brushed his fingertips down her cheek and lit her body on fire. 'My sisters were trained for court, my Mother. My daughters. I am not a fool. It is a lie.'
Phe shook her head, frustrated by his insistence.
'What should I do? Shall I be Pephennas? You would be the first elf, man or King, to ask that of me!'
'I ask it,' he nodded.
'I have lost my true self beneath the lies,' she breathed, and tried to pull away from him.
'Then find yourself!' he hissed, only to reclaim her face.
Phe felt this was too much. She wrenched away from him and when he tried again she pushed his hands away fiercely and gazed back at him angrily. She would not have dared tell him not to touch her so, but Thranduil read her feelings from her face.
'You refuse my desire?' he finally asked, his face straight and schooled and giving no hint at the truth. He had played a thousand games like this with a thousand elves, and he knew well how to hide his own feelings and bring out their truth. Phe did not have his experience and surely she would not know he was merely playing an actor now, playing himself.
'I do not refuse you! I do not know what you want!'
'I want my Kingdom to run and my enemies to respect me, and the dwarves, those bearded earthworms, to stay in their caverns and the elves to do as they are told and for men to get on with their short lives in whatever way suits them best, away from me. And for you to show me the truth that is living in your eyes, that you keep off your face out of fear. You lie.'
Phe felt her lip begin to wobble and she fought not to weep again.
'Of course I lie,' she broke finally. 'Who would want to see the truth? I have never had that choice open to me, King Thranduil. I am like a bird in a cage, and you are here to peck out my eyes for being what I was born to be!'
Thranduil gazed at her.
'I do not see much fire in you. Just a lot of sand. You are well accustomed to putting out others peoples flames, but not so good at kindling your own. I would not have enjoyed being married to a woman who hides like you.'
This was too much for Phe, who felt any masks he wore had been put there in self defense. She rose and made to stalk away before her anger overcame her. She turned, her face twisted in fury.
'And would I have enjoyed a marriage to you, King Thranduil, King of Pride! King of glittering, worthless gems and old grudges, held so long they must have gathered dust by now! Your heart is as cold as your eyes!'
Thranduil rose to face her, his brows knitted together.
How beautiful she is when she is angry. I should vex her more often.
Phe went on before he could speak; 'You play with me with no regard for how I feel! Do you think me an idiot, my lord? I know what you are doing!'
Thranduil saw suddenly why he found her so interesting. Phe was potential. She was fire and passion and the wild enthusiasm of youth, all locked in a paper cage of propriety. He wanted her to be free. He wanted her to remind him of how it felt to be so young.
'You seek to dig under my mask to find my face, to see what I hide. But I am a puzzle box you cannot open that way!'
'Stubborn wench!' he gazed down at her. 'I am trying to help you! You are trapped beneath your own pretence! Beneath Caduvens anger and your training-'
Phe hissed; 'The way you speak to me! You are so rude! My Father has always played games with my mind and feelings. It is a quality I do not like and it does not endear me to you! But if you were to ask me, my lord, I might tell you how I feel, and do it more freely than you think!'
'You are a fool, Pephennas.'
'Do not call me a fool!' she finally cried at him.
'But you are one. You think that I am torturing you because I enjoy it? I would be a fool to trust your sweet, calculated words. Your perfect manners-' he stumbled for a moment for the right words. 'You think this suits you but I see only a lie! Where I see a lie I must remove it. I must protect my house and my children!'
Phe was about to shout back at him but she abruptly closed her mouth and shook her head in disbelief.
So that is why he toys with me!
'You fear for your Kingdom,' she said more calmly. 'I see that is why you do this. I know you have been trying to discern my truest intentions and my prejudices and my desires since I arrived. I do not blame you for that. I am just tired, my lord. I have told you all I know, and shown you all I can to convince you I mean no harm to you or your kin. Still you will not believe me and you dig deeper and deeper into that which hurts me most, into my mind where all my pain and sorrow are stored, into what I cannot bear to show a man I hardly know! You deepen my sorrow!'
Phe sat again, slowly.
'Why do you test me so rigorously, my lord? Do you suspect me of wrongdoing?'
No, he thought. I suspect you of innocence. A complete and total innocence that borders stupidity, but which I find so appealing, and so wonderful, I can only hope it make it mine.
Thranduil followed her onto the cushions and he gazed upon her face appreciatively. In return, Phe tried to read his mind.
'I can walk now. Can you not just send me home? Send me away where you will be free of me!'
'No!' he said, with an intensity that surprised them both. 'I will not.'
Phe stared at him in surprise. She sensed he was holding something back.
'Why not?' she asked quietly.
He rose and fetched the bottle and with his back to her he said; 'I do not want to.'
Phe stood and went to the window. It felt so good to stand unaided. She tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear and sighed a foggy breath onto the glass. She was both frustrated and delighted by his attention. Then to her surprise the King handed her a glass of sweeter wine. His fabric brushed her backside and made her tingle. She took it with a sigh and tried it. It was lovely.
'Sit,' he said more softly, over her shoulder.
'No,' Phe defied him openly for the first time. Thranduil was silent for a full minute before he came back, closer again to repeat his order. His command sent shivers down her spine and made her insides twitch and warm.
'Not until you tell me why you will not send me home!' She insisted.
Thranduil hissed a frustrated sigh, then he spoke hotly to the back of her head. His breath stirred her hair;
'You know why.'
'I promise you, I have no idea.'
'Now who is playing with whom?'
Phe smiled. She slid into the chair and gazed at him across the gap.
'You are angry with me, my lady.'
'Yes, you have insulted me,' she said. 'I do not give up my secrets so easily.'
Thranduil's eyes were fierce and wild.
'Now you are teasing me!'
'A woman's heart is a nest of secrets,' she said. 'But I have nothing worth hiding where you are searching.'
Thranduil found his courage and moved to occupy the space beside her. When Phe did not move away, he turned to watched the starlight reflect in her eyes. The edge of his cloak warmed her thigh and made her needy and warm.
'You grow bolder,' he said.
'Does it please you, my lord?' Phe sipped the wine.
'Very much,' he nodded.
'Look!' Phe pointed suddenly. 'I can see the serpent. He is my favourite. A cunning little fellow with a sharp wit. Which is your favourite, my lord?'
'Wine?' he smiled.
'Constellation,' she smirked at his cleverness.
'Mine is below the horizon,' he said. 'The Hydra. He can see all around him. He is the king of all magical beasts.'
'I think I like the serpent best because I admire his qualities,' she said.
Thranduil turned her face with warm fingers and smiled softly. 'I am the Hydra.'
Phe made a sweet noise of desire when he leaned in and kissed her softly. She tangled her fingers in his hair and then about his shoulders. Suddenly his glass clinked on the table and Phe was not sure if he had spilled it or just put it down, but he leaned forward and took her fiercely in his arms as though his hunger had overwhelmed him.
It was as though the dam had broken. Phe melted against him helplessly and prayed he would not stop until they were tangled and joined and satisfied together. She gasped when he teased open her lips and pushed his tongue into her mouth. Her body responded unbidden. She felt the heat growing with her wetness and gripped him harder. The deeper he pushed his tongue, the further her heart seemed to flower open until Phe knew there were glistening tears in the corners of her eyes. She felt one fall and he pulled away abruptly.
'No! No-' she breathed, before his expression of concern could melt into sorrow. She put her face shyly against his. 'They are because of my husband. I do not want you to stop.'
Again his hands tightened on her waist possessively and Phe breathed a soft sigh of arousal against his ear.
Thranduil was hard and aching, needy again after so much teasing. But that was not why he continued. As Phe acquiesced and slowly gained confidence in their kiss, a need for her touch rose that was so great he had only felt the like of it once before. He caught her hand and pushed it under his collar desperately.
'Touch me!' he hissed and he made a noise when Phe began to play with his skin.
Phe wanted to pull back. What was rising inside her was far too needy, certainly too intimate for so young a relationship. She had begun to see the telltale glimmer of white lights about her outer vision. Only once before had she seen these, one night when she and Rosdaer were trying to conceive a child. She tried to tell him but Thranduil's kiss was insistent and deep.
'Mmm!' was all she managed, before the light surged up and engulfed her whole. She cried out in shock as an orgasm rippled through her.
Thranduil's brow furrowed suddenly and his grip tightened. He pulled her so close that he might have been trying to enter her. She clambered haphazardly into his lap and held on as he rode a wave of light so great that it made him whimper in helpless abandon. And then just as quickly as it had come, it subsided, leaving him shaking and...spent.
'By the Valar!' he whispered hotly. His underclothes were damp and Phe was panting in his arms, her cheeks flushed and hair messy.
'I saw the lights!' Phe gasped, her face damp against his cheek. 'My lord! Did you see them, I cannot believe it!'
He was caught somewhere between shame and abandon. His cheek was wet with her tears.
'I did not know that could happen!' she exclaimed.
Thranduil was trembling. Her soft brown eyes and now full lips made him want to take her here and now. She had tasted like their dessert, all clean and sweet and he needed her, more than he had needed anything for so long. He had seen the light inside her and he wanted now to be a part of it.
'We must not touch,' he finally said softly.
When her expression fell he realised what he had said and grabbed her hands in both of his.
'No, my lady. You do not know what those lights can do!'
Phe's eyes were wide and dark. She looked as her confusion might send her into weeping and Thranduil had seen quite enough of her tears. He shook his head at her innocence and tugged her in closer.
'They make children, my lady. I saw them once before my son was conceived. Once before Olerydes and Lilia, both. Haliel and I set out to make them, we knew what the lights would do. To see them with you, and for a mere kiss-' he stopped and gazed at her curiously.
'My lord, I have - when we kissed, I think that I-' she flushed.
Thranduil leaned in slowly and put his face near her ear. He whispered;
'I know. I heard your cry.'
Phe went so hot she felt uncomfortable until he finished;
'As did I. My name is Thranduil. You cannot join with me in the light and then call me my lord.'
000
Thranduil was mid way through a meeting with the master, who had come to him to say that Anion was not doing as well at his lessons as he ought. He was surprised to find his mind wandering to Pephennas. It then flicked to the day when she had found Gwenthel in her chambers and come to return her. As soon as he could he left the master at the table and disappeared into a dark stairwell. There he leaned his head on his forearm and stared at the brickwork in the dim light.
How could I be so stupid as to let her run free so soon! I thought her too young to cause such trouble, but what if she overheard, and misunderstood?
Thranduil found Leesha upstairs. He sat beside her and pulled her into his lap. Leesha sensed right away that something was wrong and she took his silken overcoat in her hands and asked if he was going to cry. Thranduil tried to smile as he said gently; 'Leesha, do you remember the day Pephennas arrived? Remember when you were in her chambers? Did Anion take you up to see the pretty ladies? It is alright, you can tell Ada.'
'Yes?' she said softly.
'What did they say? Tell Ada what the ladies said. Do you remember?'
Leesha thought about it. She played with one of the fastenings on his coat.
'Said...that Ada was going to marry the pretty lady today.'
'Good girl, Leesha. You are such a clever girl,' he stroked her hair. 'Tell me who you told about it. Did you say the same thing to Olerydes maybe?'
Leesha nodded.
'Salla. Anion. Yes,' she said. Then she gazed at his closed eyes and got a bit restless. 'Then...' she went on unexpectedly, 'the hairy man.'
'The hairy man? Do you mean Lord Caduven? Did he have a big black beard, Leesha?'
'Yes. He said I was pretty.'
'Did he say anything else?' Thranduil asked carefully.
'He was happy,' Leesha said.
Thranduil stood up and placed her down gently.
'Good girl, Leesha,' he said, and left her playing.
000
Thranduil summoned Thandir to carry a message and within a few minutes, the artisan arrived with his case of trinkets and Thranduil shut the door softly behind him and beckoned him to the desk.
'It must be as delicate as she,' he instructed the man quietly. 'White, I think, because she is innocent, and hang it upon a chain this long, so that it can be seen above her gown.'
He bowed and was gone. Within the day Thranduil received back a small box, which he checked and found entirely lovely. Then he slid it into his pocket.
Phe had come outside. Wrapped in a thick shawl and wearing winter boots beneath her gown she tilted back her head to look at the frozen sky. She heard the footsteps of some wild creature coming down the bank and turned in surprise to see a great elk. It was a tall beast with wild, huge antlers and it towered over her little bench. For a moment she thought to be afraid of it until she saw that it was carrying a rider.
Thranduil released the reins and offered her a gentle smile.
'Hiril vuin!' he said, as he slid off the animals back and landed on the soft grass. 'It is a long way back to the palace.'
Phe thought about it for a moment and then she laughed.
'I suppose I did come quite a long way,' she conceded. 'I was trying my legs.'
Thranduil brushed a hand down his mounts broad throat. Phe rose slowly and bought her stick with her.
'This is Lavachon!' she exclaimed. 'He is so beautiful. Is he tame?'
'He is very gentle.'
Phe came cautiously to his head. She smiled when he blew out a cloud of hot breath that stirred her gown. She touched his muzzle and found him soft and warm. He nosed her palm, bristly and smooth together. She laughed. Phe chanced to glance at Thranduil's face.
'What is wrong, hir vuin?' she asked, when she saw his countenance.
'Nothing is wrong,' he said. 'I have news, my lady. I have spoken to Legolas. It seems that Leesha was taken to see you in secret when first you arrived, by Anion. She must have overheard you speaking and misunderstood. Not long after she ran across your Father and she told him what she had heard. It is likely she told the cook. Salla is my oldest friend, but she will be disciplined nonetheless for gossiping.'
Phe stared at him in mute, blank shock.
'Leesha?' Phe gazed at him. 'So...it was nothing but an accident? My Mother told me that Ada had already arranged it, but I wonder now if he stalled, afraid...when I came to return her doll he was angry with me for interrupting!'
'He had been avoiding a subject all morning, my lady. I was growing quite tired of him.'
'He meant to ask you my lord, I am sure he did! Perhaps he just lacked the courage?'
'It seems so.'
Phe wanted to cry. Suddenly she felt as if a great weight had been lifted. She was so grateful to be found innocent of all crimes that she threw her arms around him. Thranduil caught her and embraced her firmly. Her body was soft but still strong, despite her long recovery. He reveled in her warmth and willingness and felt himself go stiff. Phe thanked him, her face against his hair and smiled widely when she pulled away.
'Will you ride with me?'
Phe smiled. For the first time she felt as though it was a true smile given freely. Her heart was warm and swollen with affection and she desired nothing more than time alone with him.
Lavachon was a tall beast. Thranduil's cloth whispered when he lifted her into the saddle. Phe had expected him to sit close but it was impossible not to sit both together upon the elk without pressing their bodies together. Thranduil was warm and soft, hard muscle rising under tender, perfect skin. As he reached around her she felt the strength in his arms and she sighed softly in pleasure.
'I do not know if it will hurt me-' she said.
'If it does then I will take you home.'
Lavachon covered ground with strides as long as a horse. He wandered through the woods on the broader paths. Once or twice he corrected his footing on slippery ground and those were the times when Phe hissed and reached to grip her back. Thranduil slid a hand about her waist and pulled her in tightly to his belly. The warmth helped to relax her and ease her posture. She was grateful for his strength and the way he kept her steady.
'My lord? So quiet?'
'Thranduil,' he said near her ear. 'I will not easily forget the lights.'
'Thranduil.'
It felt odd to say it with no title.
'You are warm,' he murmured. 'I will try not to embarrass you, Pephennas. If you promise you will not tease me.'
Phe flushed bright and hot and nearly choked on her own air.
'I do not think I can avoid it sitting like this.'
She sensed he was smiling. His arm tightened.
'You may say "Thranduil, leave me be, you are a letch!" I will not be angry-'
Phe burst out laughing.
'Thranduil do not dare leave me be-'
Thranduil swept her hair aside with a gentle brush and kissed the nape of her neck sweetly. Phe shuddered and pressed closer. Then gently he said;
'I will not doubt you in future. Your innocence is proven in my eyes.'
'You have a right to doubt me. I am not your kin and my Father may now be your enemy. But I will do no harm to you, my lord, you will see if you give me a chance. I am too grateful for all that was done for me and too attached to the Greenwood.'
Phe had the sense that something had just changed. Something important.
'It is unfortunate that you can now ride,' he said quietly. 'No longer can I cite it as an excuse for not sending you home.'
Phe reached gently for the reins and he gave them to her willingly. Thranduil laid a hand on her hip and grew stiff right away. He was sure she felt it but she made no mention of it.
'Oh, but it hurts me, my lor-' she stopped. 'I mean, Thranduil. So much that I endure it only so that I might go riding with my King!'
'I will not subject you to a lengthy journey yet, then,' he assured her.
'I am grateful,' she teased.
At the crest of a hill Phe pulled Lavachon gently to a stop. Thranduil smiled at the sky.
'You have a taste for beautiful places,' he said.
Phe smiled. Then with a soft rustle Thranduil produced a box and passed it gently into her hands.
'A gift,' he said. 'An apology. Wear it so that all will see you are redeemed.'
Phe's heart was in her throat when she opened it. Inside was a silvery pendant strung on a slender chain. It wound abound a blinding white gem that shimmered in the afternoon sun. Finding words to thank him was hard but Phe's voice was snatched away entirely when the King took it gently from her hands. He freed it from its box and strung it about her neck. When he was done he laid his hands on her arms. Phe tried to twist and she managed to go so far that she could see him. His crystalline eyes were heavy and soft.
'Oh Thranduil...I cannot believe you have given me this!' she whispered.
The air became electric then, until Thranduil's desire outweighed his caution and he cupped her face and kissed her lips softly. Phe made a soft noise and reached to touch his skin as thought even the slightest contact would feed the need in her soul. She leaned in and joined her tongue with his. Slowly she found his hair and then his jaw. His grip on her belly tightened and he sighed softly. When at last they parted, Phe was both glad and disappointed that there were no lights. She said desperately, hoping to voice some of what she was feeling so intensely;
'Do not send me home yet. I will not go, not now!'
'Have no fear,' his voice was strange and tight. He put his forehead gently against her temple. He pressed their bodies close. He watched the sun begin to sink and fought the lump in his throat.
I will defy him to battle to keep you, he thought. It is unwise to mix matters of the state with matters of the heart, but my heart is taken now and there is little I can do about it. Thranduil held her close and breathed her scent and wanted very much to voice what flowed through his heart. He held back.
000
The next afternoon, Thranduil trod alone over the soft snow, between the barren trees. The land was coated with white and the gravestone was half covered in it. He bent. With his hands he brushed it clean. His heart ached. Haliel was at the forefront of his mind more and more. Graceful fingers traced the carved stone and travelled the writing. Beloved Wife and Mother. Thranduil's hair stirred in the cold breeze and behind him, Lavachon snorted out a cloud of hot air.
So few years, he thought. I had you just a thousand years and I might live five more yet. It is so dark in here, my love. I struggle alone. I am full of sadness. Forgive me. She eases the pain! With her I find I can feel again.
He touched the stone and did not think of the tears that fell. They froze on their way down and hit the ground like diamonds.
What are these few tears next to my grief, which rages on endlessly for you.
Lavachon trod so softly over the deep drifts that he did not sink even with the weight of the Elvenking upon his back. He watched the Winter birds and twitched his ears at the slightest sounds. Thranduil let him walk and sat easy in the saddle. When Lavachon stopped to drink from a stream, Thranduil took his chance to walk a fairy glade and was very surprised by what he found hidden behind a cluster of trees. A cavern, deep and dark and full of sweet, Spring smells to out of keeping with the season that he was surprised the Greenwood could still support such magic. His tears for Haliel dried when he peered inside. It was bigger inside than out and lined with grass and moss.
I have ridden these paths a thousand times and never found you! How can that be so? I will bring her here! It is a place where we can be completely alone!
000
That night Phe wept for Rosdaer in a way she had not dared to at home, for fear that her parents might hear. She buried her face in the rich fabrics of her borrowed chambers and sobbed until her throat was sore, remembering silly little details that she had tried to forget. Olerydes found her and put her arms abound her shoulders, whispering reassurance. Then she sank heavily beside Phe and rubbed her hand.
'Your husband?' she asked tentatively.
'I miss him more than anything, Olerydes! I am sure I cannot live without him. It is as if I am walking alone through the darkness. I cannot ease my own pain without him, and he cannot come back to me! Why did he have to die?'
'I cannot say,' Olerydes said softly.
'He had gone to check the fences by the stream!' she wept. 'He never came home. It got so late and I was so afraid. Our neighbour came with me to search for him. He had been slain. He was laying in the creek!'
Olerydes squeezed her shoulder.
'I am so sorry, dearest.'
Phe threw her arms around the older girls neck and sobbed into her shoulder. Olerydes held her willingly and stroked her hair until she calmed.
'I have made you all wet-' Phe said apologetically, after some time.
'I will dry,' said Olerydes, sensibly.
Phe managed to smile at her. 'You are my friend, Olerydes. I will miss you so, when I return home.'
'I, you. We can still write.'
'We could visit,' Phe smiled. 'I hope so. When I was younger I dreamed of coming to the Greenwood. I almost feel as if I have made a home here, Olerydes. I am torn.'
Olerydes rubbed her hand gently and then she spied the gem at her bosom. She reached to touch it.
'Well! That is a lovely thing. Dearest, do you have a suitor? Only a wealthy one would have given you such a gift!'
Phe let Olerydes look. She would certainly have claimed that she had only forgotten to take it off but in truth Phe did not think she would ever part with it even to sleep.
'It is a clouded diamond!' the older girl exclaimed. 'That is a Kings ransom about your neck!'
Phe blushed.
'It was a gift, from Thranduil,' she said uncomfortably. 'He says that I am redeemed in his eyes. Now that he knows I did no wrong to him...he means it as an apology you see.'
Olerydes looked at her askance.
'An apology?' she snorted in a very unladylike way. 'That is no apology, dearest. That is a love gift! An apology is a bunch of flowers!'
'It is Winter, Olerydes-' Phe frowned.
'We have a hot house you know!'
Phe touched the pendant and smiled. Olerydes gave her a very penetrating look.
'Have you kissed him yet?'
Phe flushed bright and hot and tried to avoid the question but Olerydes gaped.
'You have! You have kissed him!'
'Please, do not tell anyone!' Phe begged her. 'I do not know what I feel. It is all so new.'
'Dearest I will not tell anyone, I simply want to know! Are you to be our stepmother? That would be so strange.'
'No! No,' Phe denied that quickly. 'No, he has said no such.'
'Do you love him?'
Phe licked her lips and again she touched the pendant.
'I feel...I do not know-'
'You do,' Olerydes rose to gaze on her face. 'You do, and he must love you to have given you that.'
Phe made a noise when Olerydes pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back.
'You do because you are weeping again, Pephennas. I always know when you feel deeply because you weep.'
Phe managed to laugh into her shoulder.
'Do not worry. I am going to keep it a secret. Of course I will.'
'Have I ruined everything?' Phe asked her quickly. 'Do you think less of me?'
'Of course not,' Olerydes laughed. 'I wish to see Ada happy. Since our Mother died he has not been the same. It will be strange when you marry him but I will get used to it, I am sure. We may get to keep you, Phe!'
That night Phe retired with the pendant still about her neck. She was very aware of it. Of its shimmer and value and of the meaning of it. Now that it had been given she felt that she could not bear to part with it, not even to buy a cottage. Her heart burned bright and hot, the doors to her soul thrown open for the King who dominated her thoughts that night.

Translations
Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin
My Lady - Hiril Vuin
My lord - Hir vuin
My son = Ionneg
My daughter = Iellig
- 6
- 7
- 8
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A Frozen Sun