Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Imagines

Thranduil ~ Prisoner 2

My body hurt.

After escaping Mirkwood via the river and being run down by orcs, I wasn't entirely sure how much more of this journey I could take.

We'd only escaped because Thranduil had allowed it.

The damned Elven King had broken me.

And now I was hurting a lot.

It had taken him many hours, but clearly with his immortality he had learned patience.

He'd rid the room of his guards knowing that I was no threat to him, although he was sure I could inflict a lot of pain if I tried.

But with just the two of us there, my nervousness grew, it made me incredibly uncomfortable, and he knew it, he read me so easily.

My stubbornness held me together for most of, a sheer resilience to being dominated over, and he just kept at it, asking question after question, occasionally being too close for comfort, and never changing his tone.

That was until he tried an entirely new strategy.

He kissed me.

I had stood there, stunned, unsure of what to make of the gentle allure of his lips on mine.

And then he made me a new offer.

An offer that I should've refused.

But didn't.

And so I ended up in his bedroom, in his bed, and he showed me exactly what being revitalized meant.

When I was returned to my cell, the dwarves had asked millions of questions, but I was incapable of answering any of them.

For the first time in my life, I felt shame.

It was overwhelming, I felt crushed and I almost didn't dare move when Bilbo came and rescued us, determined not to let any of them see my shame.

But the thought of Thorin being right drove me forward.

Standing, my head held high as if nothing was wrong, and we escaped.

And I just knew Thranduil had allowed it.

Now I was sitting by myself under Bard's home, feeling the deep ache in my body and feeling desperately sorry for myself.

Something hot fell on my hand and I stared at the tear.

I was crying. I couldn't believe it, I hadn't cried since I was a child, and now a stream of hot tears were falling down my face.

I realised that the ache in my body wasn't just a physical ache, it was emotional as well, it was all pent up, all spilling over, and I knew I could not stop this.

There were footfalls down the stairs and I quickly tucked myself into the darkest corner I could find, not wanting to see anyone.

Balin stood at the bottom, frowning. "Are you down here lass?"

I could feel myself shaking, Balin was one of the few friends I had made but I knew I could not face him.

Balin kept talking. "I don't know what Thranduil did, but you don't have to hide from us, we are here for you."

The sob broke free before I could stop it and Balin stepped forward, seeing me, red and puffy eyed, in the corner.

He looks somber. "Are you alright lass?"

"No." I managed to get out, trying to control it all.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I choked a laugh. "And what would I say? That I stuffed up? That everything in my life has been one big stuff up after another? It's not something I can answer simply Balin."