The Archers Heart

4 - You did not

Pov Thaleia:

I had found shelter in Mirkwood. Hoping that if someone were to search for me, they wouldn't think of me staying in another realm and rather search the woods and wild lands in middle earth. When I had been brought in front of Thranduil and had explained my story, he couldn't help himself but chuckle a bit. A rare occurrence for the elven king to do.

But Thranduil had taken a liking to me, after Legolas had brought me home one day. To him, I was the reason his son came back in the first place and since then he had always been more lax and softer with me. In the beginning, he tried to get Legolas and me to marry, but we declined his request fairly often, to a point where not even the stubborn elven king himself found a way to pester us anymore.

I thought I had fallen out of his liking, for declining such an honorable position, but quite the opposite happened. Me being this persistent was what caused the elven king to even respect me more. "What is it that troubles your mind, meldis?" Thranduil interrupted me from my wandering thoughts.

"Nothing. Really." I said, not really caring about looking at him. Anyone else would have been reprimanded for not showing the necessary respect for their king, but not me. With Thranduil sitting in his throne, I sat besides him on the edge of the spiral staircase, letting my feet hang in the air.

"Are you still thinking about him?" He asked, not really caring about my obvious hesitancy to talk. Thranduil never really bothered to beat around the bush. Always very straight forward in his doing and way of speaking with people. A thing I usually was quite fond of. But not this time. "I am not thinking about him." I declined.

"Ah yes, that is why you are such a sunshine to be around. Don't lie to me, hên nin." He scoffed, shuffling around in his seat. I threw him a dirty look. Another thing not many people dared to do. "Don't call me a child!" I growled, turning back to look into the depths of his real. "It have been several days. There is nothing I need to think about."

"And yet you do." Thranduil simply stated, not caring to explain himself any further. That's why I turned to fully look at him. "Is there anything you want to tell me? You know I don't like it when people don't speak their mind. If you have something to say, speak your mind. If not, don't make any half-hearted assumptions!"

A grin spread over his lips, and he sat up straighter. "Careful, meldis. Even though I like you as a friend of Legolas, there are still some rules that apply on how to speak to your king." I just snorted. "Ah yes. Rules that you care so much about." I jumped down the step I sat on, making my way towards the exit. But the two guards that stood on each side of the path, simply crossed their spears. 

I stopped my walk, turning on my heels to look at the king. "You did not just..." But he tilted his head, an arrogant smile on his lips. "I did."

"Let me go!" I demanded, to no avail obviously, because the soldiers wouldn't move. Slowly, Thranduil came walking down the stairs, eyeing me smugly. "Oh, and how I did. You don't want to talk to me? Fine. But I don't like seeing you wander through my halls in such a frantic and yet aimless state."

I gritted my teeth, my nostrils flaring at his words, but I kept my composure, a sharp remark on my lips: "I didn't know you cared so much." To that Thranduil just chuckled: "I do not. But you take away the glamour of this halls with your sorrows."

Gasping at his words I stared at him, not sure if he meant what he said. Steps behind me made me want to turn, but I couldn't let go of the staring contest me and Thranduil were having with each other. "Thaleia? Can we talk?" Haldirs voice behind me, made my body grow rigid and once I saw the smile on Thranduils face grow wider, I could feel white anger searing through my veins. "You send for him." I concluded, my voice just above a whisper. "I came to you, hoping I would be granted time and space to think and you betray me like that?" Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, my fists balled up beside me. "You out of all I hoped to be the one to leave me alone? And that's what I get? Betrayal?"