The Witch's Destiny || Thranduil

Chapter XXV

NOTE: There IS a new chapter before this. You may not have received the notification that it was updated. I have my book saved to check, and I didn't get the notification. If you've read it, carry on. If not, then you have two chapters to read!

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Maybe if Violet believed that this entire thing was a nightmare, it would come true. And she wished she could say she regretted loving Thranduil. It would make the unbearable guilt a lot easier to deal with.

But she didn't, and even just the thought of betraying Thranduil in such a manner added even more guilt.

The pair hadn't even spoken since Legolas found out. It was like they didn't know how anymore. And perhaps they didn't. For two logical people, this was an outcome they didn't foresee coming. The most obvious outcome of them all, one they had talked about multiple times over, but never expected to come true.

Was love not supposed to be easy? Even in the fairytales, the lovers never drove themselves apart from each other. They fought for each other and they sacrificed for each other, just like Thranduil and herself. Thranduil would face the death of a second spouse when her mortal life inevitably came to an end. Violet would face leaving her home and her family behind.

They faced hurting Legolas, who from the beginning had made clear his discomfort on the subject. They did hurt Legolas, by hiding everything from him.

What would the outcome had been if they had just been honest with him? She dared not think what would have happened if they waited in the first place.

She loved him. She was not ashamed of it. They were two puzzle pieces that fit together just right. But could they have saved all of this heartache and pain? It mattered not anymore. What was done was done.

"My lady," Nîdhel called softly, smiling when Violet looked at her through the mirror. Violet gave a small smile back, reaching over her shoulder to hold the hand of the elleth. Flufflepuff laid in her lap, under the small throw blanket that rested there. 

"This may sound silly, since all you do mainly is fix my hair, but I am so deeply grateful for you, Nîdhel," Violet said.

"Nonsense. 'Tis not silly at all. Feeling and looking beautiful does wonders for up here," she replied, tapping a nail to Violet's temple, and checking one last time over the elaborate braids in the back, "Why don't you wear the necklace from the king today? Maybe it will help to have a piece of him near you."

"No. That feels like rubbing salt in Legolas's wound, and I won't do that."

"A dress, then?"

"No. No fairy tale fantasies today."

"You let me fix your hair."

The witch giggled softly. "Because you would have fought me on it relentlessly."

The elleth giggled with her. "Very well. Get dressed. They're waiting for you."

Ah, yes. The meeting that will probably win awards for the most awkward place to be in all of Middle-Earth. A room filled with Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Gandalf, Galadriel, Harry, Thranduil, Legolas, Elrond, Authanar, and herself all discussing one last time their plans and ignoring the fact that everyone had gone back to square one.

"Any chance I can ignore that?" Violet asked, face smushing into a grimace.

"Afraid not, my lady."

The witch sighed. "Very well, then."

She picked the Pygmy Puff off of her lap gently, cradling him before she put him on the bed, wrapped in the throw blanket. She dressed like she was back home: a simple wizarding tunic with sharp shoulders and bell sleeves with a pair of dark leggings. Like it was a simple day of going to work, catching rogue Death Eaters, popping over to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner, and then going home to Flufflepuff. Those were easier times that a part of her heart truly longed for.