The Hobbit Imagines

2. Thranduil x Reader (Part One)

Purposefully, you marched through the Great Halls towards the throne room. Thranduil had sent for you, asking that you see him immediately. Having just finished your watch at the gate, you took no time to arrive outside his door. You knocked and awaited a reply. Another guard opened the door and gestured for you to enter, bowing his head as you passed him. You spied Thranduil gazing over the railing which ran along the edge of the platform he stood on. He was so lost in his thoughts, you could see it; there was so much filling his head, so many worries and responsibilities. You coughed and he whipped his head round to look at you. You mumbled "You called for me, your highness." You bowed to him, respectfully. "Yes. What news of the orcs that were hunting the when they escaped? Did you trace where they had come from? Find any others?" He asked plainly. He never bothered with small talk, far too trivial for one such as himself. It was just yesterday when the dwarves from the Blue Mountains had been caught 'trespassing'- as Thranduil called it- in the Mirkwood forest. Your gaze dropped to the floor nervously "We did not manage to kill them all, some slipped passed." He interrupted you "How many?" Thinking back, you only estimated when you told him "Perhaps eight, ten at most." Thranduil scoffed "They may not have been so fortunate had you not wanted the dwarves to escape." You raised an eyebrow at him. Such an accusation was offensive and you defended yourself without a second thought "The guard took on forty orcs and with only ten living, we tried our best. I wanted nothing of the sort." He narrowed his eyes at you angrily. "Your highness." You added. Slowly, he descended the stair, watching you with an intense glare "I was informed that you opened the gate for them. They were within our grasp and you helped them." With each word, Thranduil became more intimidating. You shook your head "They were trapped in the underpass, how were we to stand by and watch them be slaughtered?" "THEY are the enemy!" He roared. You flinched, afraid that this would happen. You replied sharply. "They are your enemy, your highness." You cursed yourself for letting that slip out. He smirked at you, creeping towards you. "You will do very well to remember that you are the Captain of the Guard, you serve me." You looked at him bravely and said "I serve the people, Thranduil." He closed his eyes when you addressed him by his name and not his title. You felt like you were about to cry. Time and time again, you have argued with Thranduil about your responsibility to your own kind and your responsibility to others on Middle Earth. You were tired of fighting with him. For so long he was your closest friend. That was before he became king. Then you were assigned Captain of the Guard and everything changed.

Thranduil was a kind leader, he was reasonable and respectable. Then he lost his wife, just after Legolas was born. He became cold and heartless, hateful to all who opposed him. And even those who tried to love him. Constantly, Thranduil refused to help the beings outside of Mirkwood, those who suffered and sought an alliance. His bitterness towards life tainted his heart and twisted his mind. At first, you let it unfold as it did, hoping it would figure itself out. But overtime it became too much. Soon, Thranduil was doing things just to spite others. It became a vicious game of power and control. You couldn't take it anymore. You confronted him and he was furious to say the least; he sent you away but after only a day, he requested you return to speak with him. You see he cared too much for you, which was a disadvantage for him. It meant he would contradict himself over and over just to keep you by his side. You tried again to convince him to reach out to the other species of Middle Earth, gain their trust, gain strength for his lands. It lead to repetitive arguments, shouting and crying. Despite that, you never gave up- you had a duty to every single being in your world. If you were not there for each other, who would be?

"I grow weary of this bickering Y/N. I am not to be swayed by some sob story." He began to mock you "'But look at them, the poor dears. If we don't help them, they'll surely die!' They'll die anyway. Dwarves are reckless creatures, they live to die. I live to thrive. You need to grow up, Y/N. Your responsibility lies with this kingdom. With me." He warned you. You let out a breath of laughter "This kingdom is disappearing by the day. This is no grand palace. It is riddled with sick desire. Darkness spreads throughout these lands, we will not be safe here forever. You may hide in your precious tunnels for now, but how long before you realise that our home is shrinking. The borders close in on us as evil grows. The southern quarter was almost lost all but three days ago to a pack of orcs. Is this how you choose to die? Cowering behind a throne in a lonely kingdom." Outraged, Thranduil struck you across the cheek with such force you were knocked to the ground. "How dare you speak to me like that?! After everything I've done for you! All the times I've forgiven you. All the effort I gave to keep you safe." You held you stinging cheek which gradually turned a sharpish-pink. Tears gathered in your eyes as you said in a hushed tone "Clearly your efforts were wasted, you should have been helping those really in need. I don't want your forgiveness anymore, and you shall not have mine." You picked yourself up from the floor, keeping a metre's distance between you and Thranduil. You brushed yourself off and took your hand away from your face. Your head throbbed and your vision shook. But you didn't lose your courage as you told him "Yes, I let the dwarves go, I might have even saved them. Their freedom is not yours to take away. And nor is mine." You spat at his feet and swept your cloak around you as you stormed out of the room.

Not bothering to pack clothes or other personal items, you scoured your chambers for your weapons; your sword, bow and arrows, and daggers. Securing them onto your body, you dashed out of your room and down the halls. You knew Thranduil would try to find you, so you had to leave before he got the chance to stop you. As you ran through the corridors of the palace, you heard mutterings that Thranduil had ordered for the front gates to be closed. You had to get to the guards before the message. Moving as fast as you could through the gathering crowds, you stopped at the front doors. Turning to the WatchGuard, you smiled convincingly and asked "May you open the gate? I am going for a late archery practice, a few hours at most." Fluttering your eyelashes, you knew your charm would help. It was said that you were the fairest elven-guard in all of Mirkwood. The guard stared at you, entranced until you said impatiently "I was hoping for an answer before nightfall but if you need to take your time..." The guard smiled bashfully and called up to the watchtower for the gate to be opened. You winked at him and strolled out of the halls triumphantly.

As you glided passed the gate, you glanced back at the door which remained open. Looking into the corridor, you saw a figure strutting towards the door, along with two soldiers either side of him. Thranduil loured at you, his eyes demanding you turn around. Realising your intentions, the guards began to sprint down the hallway, trying to reach you. Pursing your lips at Thranduil, you bowed one last time and broke into a jog. You had a few moments to warm yourself up. Hearing shouts behind you, you quickened your pace and began laughing tauntingly; they wouldn't catch you. You would reach the borders of Mirkwood with ease and then, according to Thranduil, it wouldn't be his problem anymore.

Hey guys! Thranduil's kind of the bad guy in this one but I love him really. Well, I hope you enjoyed! If you did please vote/add/comment, I appreciate it so much. Don't forget to tell me who you guys want to read about because I'm happy to write about all of the characters :D And I'll see you for the next story <3

~Niamh~