With You

Chapter 20

A/N: I chose to do a fade to black on the nsfw 18+ stuff. Just so you know, in elven culture, the act of bedroom intimacy is what creates the marriage bond. Their souls merge and it creates a low level telepathic bond for all eternity, which is part of why they are so deeply monogamous.

When he woke the next day, Thranduil blinked in the afternoon sun filtering through the window. He felt her in his mind before he looked at her, breathing easy and evenly, relaxed and unbound in his arms. Beneath the image of reality, he could see the truth of her spirit beneath her flesh. Not only did she seem like a sunbeam bound in elven flesh, now that he could see her naked soul clearly, it was confirmed beyond doubt. It was if someone had lit an inferno of light after he had been sitting in a dark cold dungeon for millennia. He felt that if he wasn't careful, he could go blind just by watching her radiance.

Trying to adjust his vision, he examined her more closely, his eyes returning to the marking of a blue butterfly on her shoulder blade. The markings were thin, he noticed as he traced the light blue lines with his eyes. He knew that he was the first person to see it, the evidence marking her soul, the marking of her vow to the Valar Este. She truly was remarkable, and now she was his wife. He marveled at the idea as he continued to take in the moment. He smirked as his eyes roved over her neck, noting that she did not bear any markings from the night before even though he could still clearly feel the scratches down his back that she had left.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of parchment sliding against stone. He leaned up, taking care to not jostle his wife too much, to take a peek. It was a letter, slid beneath the door, addressed to Lady Celebelen. He had to suppress the groan of irritation, which he regretted instantly as she began to stir in his arms.

"Mmmm?" she mumbled. Then she yawned, "What is it, love?"

He looked down at her, smiling as he watched her rub her eyes. He carefully took a lock of her hair that fell into her face, and tucked it behind her ear as he ducked to kiss her cheek. "Nothing, my star. You can return to sleep."

She shook her head as she sat up to stretch, "I know there's something. No need to coddle me."

He sighed and pointed to the floor, grumbling as she quickly pulled the blanket off her and scooped up the letter instantly.

After she opened it, she gasped. He leapt out of bed to stand beside her in concern. She looked at him, her eyes dancing in excitement, "It's from Lady Este. Mother said she had written to me, but in all the excitement of the wedding, I had forgotten."

He smiled and encouraged her to read it.

After she did a small dance of excitement, she began to read it out loud:

"My beloved student,

Congratulations on your coming wedding. The wind and earth have been keeping me up to date on your movements, and I couldn't be more proud. You have become everything I had hoped you would be when I first took you on as my pupil.

A few things I need to tell you, now that you are to become a ruler over a realm of your own. Firstly, you might have noticed your abilities getting more powerful. This is no accident. When I gave you my blessing, I wove more magic into the bond than I had initially let on. You see, I had always intended for you to share this blessing with others. Therefore, the more you help others with your gifts, the more your abilities will grow.

You may notice that as your abilities grow, the stronger your life force becomes. This is no accident as well, as it is part of my blessing also. The more you heal others, the stronger your blessing will be. The world is dangerous, my little rose bud, and I wanted to give you some protection against the coming darkness."