A King's Curse

Prologue

Never is royalty exempt from having faults, even if he is as perfect as an Elf.

In a land far away, Thranduil, the young Elvenking, lived in a shining castle, built into the safety of a mountain. Although he was beautiful and had everything his heart desired, the King was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. 

One day, in the midst of a ghastly storm, an old dwarf woman came to the castle and offered him a simple box of white gems in return for shelter. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the King sneered and turned the old woman away. He could not deny the beauty of the jewels, but his hatred towards all other races kept him from accepting.

The dwarven woman warned him not to be deceived by appearances for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the dwarf woman's figure melted away to reveal a powerful Maia. The King tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen there was no love in his heart. 

And as punishment, she removed the magical illusion on his face covering the dreadful scar that had been caused by the serpents of the North. Then she placed a terrible curse on his kingdom, hiding Mirkwood from the rest of Middle Earth.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the King concealed himself in his castle, a magic mirror as his only window into Middle Earth. The gems she had offered, were truly white gems of pure starlight, which would glow until his 2,001st year. 

If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last precious jewel dimmed, then the spell would be broken. If not, he and the rest of his subjects would be doomed to die. 

As the years passed, the King fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

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Greetings, darlings!! I am super excited for this book and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I am writing it! This is my first Lotr fanfic -- just gonna throw that out there. Also, I don't know everything about  Tolkien's world so if I make a mistake, please don't be mad! Feel free to comment corrections, all I ask is be kind! This is kinda inspired by Beauty and the Beast, but won't follow everything from the movies. Also if you didn't read the description, this is set pre-Fellowship. 

Buckle up, 'cause it's gonna get juicy. 

And a little brutal. 

And a tad bit witty.