Your Hands Are Cold

Consolation

“I warned you,” Thranduil said in a small voice. After Thranduil caught Arandur of what he was doing to me, he sent him off straight away to the dungeons and he was terminated of his position as a palace guard. Thranduil brought me to his chambers, which was nearer, to console me. He ordered a servant to bring me a small wooden cup of miruvor. Thranduil also disentangled the braids of my hair, which was strange to me, because I thought untangling one’s braids was a special occasion reserved for blood relatives and courted couples.

 “Forgive me,” I replied quietly, as I looked down to the cup that I clutched tightly with my hands. “I was foolish, and I should have taken your advice,”

 “Don’t worry of such things, Maeneth. All is well now,”

 “No,” I said. “Whatever love I had for Arandur blinded me, and made me become someone who I am not. I did not mean the words that I spoke to you earlier this morning. I was filled with great anxiety at that time, and so I apologize,”

 “It is I who should apologize to you, Maeneth. I was an arrogant fool, but I have been this way for many, many years,”

 “Why do you not see me as a lowlife orphan?”

 Thranduil remained silent, and then said, “Because you possess qualities that are far more superior than others. You may say to yourself that you are stubborn, foolish, arrogant, or selfish. All those words describe me as well, but I am not like you. No one in this realm is like you,”

 “And why is that?”

 “Well, for a start, I have not known many seamstresses who can argue and throw insults much better than a dwarf,”

I laughed. Well, we both laughed. However, Thranduil’s laugh was much more different than I expected it to be. It was not gruff, but much lighter than I expected. His smile also gleams when he laughs, but he tends to stop laughing as soon as he can. Probably because he wanted to keep his unwelcoming demeanor.

 “I shall return to my chambers then,” I spoke. “Thank you, my king,”

 He nodded, and I left the room with a smile on my face.