Forbidden Love {Legolas Love Story}

Chapter 1

2,000 Years Later
Thalia's POV
200 Years Before the Battle of the Five Armies

"I bring a message for Thalia, daughter of the late Nestarion."
In the middle of braiding my waist-length, dark brown hair, I heard someone at the door with a message for me.
"Do not keep the King's messenger waiting!"
I walked over and opened it. Standing outside was an immaculately dressed messenger from the palace, looking annoyed that he had been kept waiting. I immediately felt conscious of my half-done hair.
"Good morning," I stammered, trying to sound more confident than I was feeling. He showed no signs of emotion as he started to speak.
"This is a message for Thalia from King Thranduil. The unexpected passing of your father has left the Royal healer's position vacant. Therefore, as his only child you shall fill the position. Report to the west wing of the palace tomorrow morning at six-thirty. Good day." Without giving me a chance to speak, the messenger closed the door and left.
   
After the initial shock of the message I was overcome with joy. This was an opportunity that I had been working towards for years. It's true, my father did teach me everything he knew. As his only child he devoted all his spare time to me. I remember how he used to take me into the woods and teach me all the different plants and their healing properties as well as giving me lessons in precise shooting. My eyes stung with tears as the memories flooded my brain. He had died not long ago but I was missing him like crazy. I decided that I needed air so, without stopping to finish doing my hair, I grabbed my bow, slipped on my boots and left for the woods.
   
Running through the woods was where I felt most at home. Others called Mirkwood stuffy, with heavy air, twisted trees and thick foliage. I, on the other hand, found it cool and calming. I loved being surrounded with the ancient trees, brimming with untold secrets. I took out my bow and shot arrow after arrow at the branches. My fingers moved seamlessly through the arrow and the string, releasing it at just the right moment. This Elvish skill could only be perfected after hundreds of years of practice. I stopped running when I ran out of arrows and found myself standing in a small clearing. I closed my eyes and relaxed there for a moment, soaking up the atmosphere.
"Hello," said a soft voice behind me. I froze, then slowly turned around.

Standing behind me was King Thranduil's son, Legolas. I'm usually somewhat nervous around strangers but standing in the presence of a prince made my heart beat even faster.
"Are these yours?" He held out the arrows that I had shot. "I found them all around in the trees."
I felt a rosy tinge creep up my cheeks as I reached out to collect them. Our hands barely touched but even that small contact sent a shiver up my spine. We stood there in awkward silence for a little while as I felt my cheeks getting hotter and hotter. Why did he have to be so good looking?
"The weather is nice," I mumbled awkwardly. "Ugh, why am I being so stupid?" I thought to myself.
He smiled kindly at me. "I had better be going now. It was nice meeting you." It was only after he started to walk away that I remembered my manners.
"Goodbye!" I called out. "And thank you for returning the arrows!"
I realised that despite my atrocious attempts at conversation, my half-done hair and my red eyes he was kind to me. The Prince of Mirkwood was kind to me. As I walked home I realised that I couldn't stop smiling.

One Month Later:
The trees rushed past me as I sprinted through Mirkwood. We had met here so many times in the past month but I had never been late before. I reached the clearing and looked around. Legolas was standing in the centre with a small smile playing on his face.
"You're late."
"Sorry, my last patient took longer than expected," I replied, panting.
"Father is insisting that I continue to train with my weapons. Would you care to practice with me?"
I nodded, but as I reached for my bow, I realised that I did not have it. Oh no! I must have left it behind because I was running so late. Legolas seemed to understand my situation.
"It's ok. Why don't you share mine?"
I smiled gratefully as he handed me an arrow. As we shot at trees, running all over Mirkwood, I contemplated my relationship with Legolas. He had been a close friend for a while now but I didn't really think of him as anything more than that. Surely he felt the same way and besides, he's a prince and I'm just a common healer. Of course it won't work. However it still was nice to have someone to talk to. Plus, he didn't look down on my common status or hold it against me.
"Thalia, we've run out of arrows." Legolas' voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I went to help him collect them and realised that he too had been very quiet.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him.
"No. I'm just thinking."
"Aren't we all?" I smiled, looking up at the sun shining through the trees. The light made the leaves glow an exquisite emerald green. Then I realised how low the sun was. "Look at the time! I should go home or my mother will worry." I handed Legolas his arrows and started to walk away.
"Thalia, wait!" I turned around. He handed me a small token on a necklace string. It looked simple yet priceless at the same time.
"This is for you. It was really nice seeing you today."
"Thank you so much! It was nice seeing you too." I replied. Did my eyes fool me? I think I saw a slight blush as Legolas talked. "It's probably nothing," I thought to myself as I walked home. But a small part of me still wondered otherwise.