Cold Wind Blows [Cuil -o Thranduil]

Chapter 9

Staring at the painting of the him and his beloved wife, The King couldn't help but run his fingers on her face, or more like trying to caress her face. He reminisces those moments he had with her. From the time when he first saw her and held her, to the time when she let out her last breath. His heart ached at those memories and couldn't help but let the tears fall from his eyes. He sniffled then stumbled a little as a light knock on the door made him let out a loud sigh then stood straight. Thranduil let the cover fall over the painting before answering. "Who is there?" He asked with coldness in his voice, even though he was sure of her presence behind the closed door.

"My King, Lady Elaine is here as you called." Elros said, as Elaine stood beside him with her arms crossed behind her back. Her face showed no emotions, and for some reason she didn't feel scared or nervous of what was going to happen or what he was going to talk to her about.

The door opened and as she stepped inside the room, the musty smell of old books filled Ellain's nostrils. It was more like a sweet scent to her and all of a sudden it made her feel relaxed. Her eyes wander around the different book cases and was quite taken aback with the sight of infinite books, some of which she didn't know ever existed. She had always been curious about everything, and reading was one of her favorite things to do. Seeing a vast library made her almost jump in delight. She didn't realize and began to roam her fingers on one of the books until the sound of someone clearing his throat made the book fall from her hands. "Oh..." She exclaimed and bend down to pick up the book and place it back on the shelf before turning around to see the King standing, staring down at her.

She took a glance at him then her eyes wandered to look around at anything but not him. She soon realized Elros had already gone, and was left alone with the King. She sighed a little as she began to play with her fingers, looking down.

"I hope you had a nice sleep last night." Thranduil's cold voice echoed through the library as he poured wine for himself. Elaine observed him with no emotion then rolled her eyes thinking 'This is what he wanted to talk about...' Suddenly Thranduil turned around and stopped to look at her face then spoke before taking a sip of wine from his goblet, "No, it's just a responsibility of mine to know if my guest is having a nice stay here."

Elaine looked up with shocked and curious expression on her face but then easily hid her emotions within seconds."How did you know?" She asked with curiosity and a bit of embarrassment. "Your face, especially your eyes, they speak louder than your voice." Thranduil said as he stared directly into her eyes, making Elaine squirm as began to stare at her feet again.

"Anyways, I called you here just to know a little bit more about you and of course to thank you for your aid. That was truly a very kind act of yours" Thranduil walked towards his arm chair then sat down. He gestured her to sit on the arm chair in front of him as he took another sip of wine from his goblet.

Elaine walked slowly towards the arm chair, then Sat down. Even though the chair was warm and soft, she still felt quite uncomfortable. Thranduil sighed as he looked down at his goblet, "I apologize for whatever happened yesterday evening. We were just-" "It's alright, don't apologize. Lord Elrond told me everything." Thranduil frowned at her then sighed as he began to stare at the goblet again.

Elaine observed him as he did nothing but trace the rim of the wine goblet with his fingers. It looked like as if he was in a deep thought. Elaine couldn't help but turn her attention to the vast library again. Her eyes stopped to stare at a frame covered in a soft silk cloth far behind the shelves. She frowned at it and almost tempted to have a look at it when a deep voice made her flinch and turned her attention to the King who was now standing and refilling his goblet with the rich, flavorful wine.

"You seem like a kind of a person who is always curious about her surroundings" The king said with slight interest. "Well, that is true, but only for few things. I have always loved searching for answers to my curiosity, mostly about nature." She smiled at him as her warm eyes shone with interest.

The King couldn't help but smile at her "You remind me of someone very close to my heart." He sighed then came to sit on the armchair where he sat before. "Well, I don't think others aren't curious about their surroundings. That doesn't make me any special..." Thranduil shook his head, "No, it isn't only about your curious nature, it's just you."

Elaine locked her eyes with his, as if she was searching for something. "Who are you speaking of, if you don't mind me asking." Thranduil sighed, then closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he should trust her enough to answer it.

A/N: Hey Mellyn! I know it's been 2-3 months since my last update and I'm really sorry for that. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I'll see you next time with another chapter! Happy reading!