An Angel As Queen; A Thranduil love story.

Chapter 4

I wake up to the sound of a horn blowing, signalling we're leaving soon. I quickly pack my bag and jog to Demjin. I won't have to worry about the tent as there are always Elves who stay behind and clean up the camp. When I've made sure everything is secure, I jump in the saddle and ride to the front.

I ride up to the king and fall in next to him. "Ready to go home?" He asks without looking at me.

"I don't know, I'm different from them, what if they hate me?"

"You've saved my life not once, but twice. They'd be fools to hate you for that. If they hate you, I'll see it as treason, as your loyalty to me is obvious."

"Thank you, my lord." I say, unsure of what to think of his protectiveness over me.

We had to make a small detour because of a fallen tree and have now come across the ruins of a village, the remains of burned corpses scattered on the ground in various positions.

"I wonder what happened here." The king muses, not expecting an answer.

"This is the village where my mother and I lived. I may or may not have returned and gotten my revenge by destroying it all and leaving none alive."

Thranduil doesn't even look surprised, he just stares at the destruction. "How did you do this? How powerful are you if you can do all this?"

"I've never reached the bottom of my power, as for how I did this, I do not know. I was so taken by my anger that I wasn't in control of my own body, I don't even remember what happened. Just immense anger and grief."

He chuckles, something I thought he wasn't capable of. "I'll remember not to anger you."

We ride on in silence, not complete silence though as the Elves murmur and speculate about what happened to the village. The winning theory is that Smaug passed here and plundered their homes for gold. Fortunately, it never crosses their mind that I could be behind this. It also doesn't cross Thranduil's mind that fire is not in my skillset, which was my father's idea to cover up the mass murder.

Not much time has passed when arrive at the livelier part of the forest, where flowers bloom and birds sing. I stare in awe at all the tree who feels like their watching over us, in fact, this whole place seems to be encompassed in a protective energy. It feels like home.

Not too far from the path is a little lake with flowers surrounding it, if I ever get free time I'll have to come here.

When I look back at Thranduil he's looking at me with a genuine smile on his face, but he quickly composes himself. "We're almost there, I've had your chambers prepared for you. Do you have any belongings that need to be sent here?"

"No, this is all I have." I say and pat my bag strapped to the saddle. He looks mildly surprised but regains his usual emotionless face quickly.

When we enter the Woodland Realm, I can't help the little squeal of happiness that escapes my lips. There truly are no words to describe how I feel, after all these years I'm finally home.

"I'll show you to your chambers, they're connected with mine since you're my personal guard." Thranduil says, breaking my trance.

"Oh, that isn't necessary, I'll find it myself. You don't have to bother with me."

"I insist. You're new here, wouldn't want you to get lost." He says in a tone that leaves no room for arguing.

"Alright, my lord. But could I have dinner first? I'm starving."

He chuckles, "But of course, follow me." He hops off of his horse with an elegance I can only hope to achieve. I try to imitate him anyway and nearly fall of Demjin; I swear she's laughing. "Don't worry, that was completely deliberate." I say while struggling to untangle.

"Why don't you use magic?"

"I forgot." I reply as I use said magic to untangle myself.

"You forgot you had magic?" Thranduil asks incredulously.

"I was too busy thinking about food."

He just shakes his head.

He leads me over curving paths and under until we arrive in a room with only a table full of food. "Eat whatever you want. If there's anything else you want, tell me and I'll make them cook it." He says and sits down at the table. I take the seat on the other side and start putting things on my plate, I begin with eggs and sausages.

When I look up, I see Thranduil is eating too, but he skipped everything and started with desert, currently eating a whole chocolate cake. I chuckle, I had never expected him to have a sweet tooth. "What's so funny?" He asks.

"Nothing, my lord. I just don't think you can eat that whole cake by yourself."

"What do I get when I finish it?"

"You'll get my finest dagger, crafted by the Asteri themselves. But, if you don't succeed, I get to decide what you wear for a whole day."

"You'll regret this." He smirks and continues eating.