Turi and the ring of Valar Belain (Thranduil fanfic)

Chapter 10

Turi strode through the palace gardens first thing the next morning, hoping to have the quickest meeting on record. Her hands were sweating and she had to steady herself not to trip and go head first into the evergreen shrubbery lining the garden path.

There were a thousand and one ways this could go wrong, and in her head she'd decided on several plans of action that had just as soon been discarded again. Her latest plan was just to wing it.

It was a lovely day, actually, with a thin sun out and birds singing. To Turi, their song sounded like a lament for the walking dead.

She tucked her hands deep into her warm cloak. It'd been taking a deadly chance to question the king once, and now she was going to have to do a repeat of that feat.

But she had not been able to come up with any explanation that would satisfactorily justify Thranduil's lie. Personally, her conclusion was that her image of reality was a delusion, their relationship fake, and their intimacy based on lies. It seemed as logical and unavoidable a conclusion as anything.

The patio ahead looked beautiful, even now the undergrowth was sparse and only few flowers were still blossoming. Thranduil was bent low over some vivid pinkish red campium flowers. Having sensed her approach since long, he turned around to offer her a fresh bouquet.

His sweet smile made her all soft inside, and therefore all the more desperate to hear that there'd been some sort of mix-up. That he hadn't really told her a cold lie to her face.

'Lovely Turi' Thranduil smiled 'my heart is brighter than all of the many stars in the sky to see you.' Turi crooned. 'These are blooming all over now' he said, still holding the bouquet.

This was going to be even harder than she'd thought. She certainly wasn't going to be sidetracked into having a botanical discussion, though that seemed much preferable to the task at hand.

'I am sorry my dearest, my loveliest...' she hesitated. 'But I have to ask you, where were you around táranar – midday on the day that the trader failed to show up to the meeting with the green elves?' She begged him with her eyes. 'We have a witness...' her voice trailed off.

Thranduil sighed and turned away from her to put the flowers down on a nearby bench. Was he still unwilling to speak the truth, even after having been found out?

'This is no casual visit then?' he asked raising one eyebrow, still looking away from her. Turi took a deep breath and tried to regain eye contact by touching his arm. 'Please, I take no pleasure in asking you this.'

'And what if I said I was in the palace?' Thranduil shot back. Turi quickly retracted her hand and looked at him wide-eyed. He glanced at her only briefly, then sighed and seemed to look over her shoulder at some unclear point in the distance.

Turi was taken aback. 'You'd rather betray our love than tell me the truth about your actions?' Thranduil rolled his eyes. 'That's a bit dramatic, isn't it?'

'Yes, and so what? Turi snapped. She felt like he was not taking this, not taking her seriously.

Thranduil folded his arms in front of his chest and now focused on her with all his attention.

'I am your king, and I'm not used to having my actions questioned.' 'And so I should not inconvenience you with my silly murder investigation, I guess?' she asked, breathing hard.

Infuriatingly, Thranduil smiled as if he enjoyed her retort. He asked 'Lle tela? - are you finished?'

Unwilling to push the limits of his patience any further, Turi hung her head and tried to compose her thoughts. Before she could speak, Thranduil moved close to her so no space was left between them. He locked her in his arms, and tilted her chin up to face him.

'The trader contacted me. A message was sent to the palace that morning.'

He sighed, as if he was having trouble finding the right words. 'He had starlight gems, and I was..' he flipped his hand in some vague explanatory gesture 'I wanted to get you something.' He put his hand on her crown. It was a strange yet comforting gesture.

Turi leaned into his hand as it made its way down alongside her face. She kissed his palm, which smelled of the sweet campium flowers. How foolish she'd been not to trust him.

Unsmilingly, she looked back into his deep blue eyes. He pulled back, still holding her hand. 'In any case, he didn't have any on him when we met in the lobby, and we agreed to reconvene later at the palace. I left him alive and well.'

She nodded 'Thank you.' 'Yes, well' he huffed 'rest assured that I'll be as uncooperative next time.' He paused to let his words sink in. 'A king does not need to explain his actions.'

'Right' said Turi.

'Hm?' he asked with his head slightly cocked to one side. 'We're good' she whispered, then treated him to a wide repentant smile.

Satisfied with this outcome, she decided to follow her flight instinct and evacuate the scene. She picked up the bouquet and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek, then turned down the path before he could protest.

Halfway down she looked back over her shoulder. He wasn't protesting but just watching her go, a serene smile on his most handsome face. He was so strikingly good looking, with a strong jawline, aquiline nose and those clear eyes. But his real beauty, she had come to realise, was in his heart and beautiful mind.

Turi couldn't know but despite his protestations of pride, Thranduil's heart was full to bursting for her too. Her fighting spirit was impressive. Her energy always high.

As she bounced further down the path and away from him, her blonde hair flying in the wind, he couldn't wait for them to be together again. Though maybe he'd actually have to murder someone rather than offer flowers to get her full attention. He smirked.

Turi felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her heart felt light, and for a while she felt like bursting into song. Her love was without blame. He'd only met the trader at his insistence, then left him alive. What a relief.

But as she casually strolled into the office, saying hello's and waving to the Dirs, Turi's mind was already working overtime again.

There were still some major and minor questions hanging over this case. Minor: why did the trader invite Thranduil over, then didn't bring any jewellery down from his room? And why did he need a brush from the inn when he already had two? This all seemed such peculiar behaviour to Turi. Major: where were the ring and the starlight gems now, and why dump the body in the central hall, which didn't appear to be anywhere near the initial murder scene?

If we just follow the gold, Turi mused, who stood to profit from this? The case revolved around a robbery after all. Who wanted the ring?

There was a simple answer to that: the green elves! And for whom could the central hall be an important symbol? Again, the green elves.

Turi sighed and rubbed her eyes. If only things were so straightforward.

Talathon, together with the other green elves, had an ironclad alibi. The entire delegation had been together on the day of the trader's disappearance. This had been confirmed by the this time deep-undercover surveillance team monitoring the mansion.

No one had entered or left until late that afternoon to warn the authorities about the trader not showing up. They could not have killed the trader after he'd met with Thranduil. It was just impossible.

So who had done this?