Another World

Chapter 9

"Will you please slow down!"

Charlotte glanced at Thranduil out of the corner of her eye. He was currently clutching the armrest of the passenger seat with an iron clad grip, his knuckles ghostly white from the strain. Charlotte was starting to get worried that Thranduil might snap the armrests right off. His jaw was clenched, making his defined bone structure stand out, and his body was as rigid as a plank as he stared straight ahead with the wide-eyed terror of someone facing imminent death.

"I'm going well below the speed limit, Thranduil," she stated calmly, both hands gripping the steering wheel as they drove down the deserted road that stretched on for miles and miles. Charlotte had no destination in mind – she just wanted Thranduil to have the opportunity to get out and visually experience the world he had landed in. Though, all he was seeing right now was country side dusted in powdery snow.

"Then go slower," he ground out through clenched teeth.

Charlotte sighed in exasperation, but she eased her foot off the pedal. She glanced down at the dash and inwardly groaned: they were now only doing forty kilometers an hour! This was a snail's pace. She chanced a glance at the elf, but could discern no sign of him relaxing.

"You've faced countless battles that have been really vicious and gruesome, yet a simple ride in a car puts you on edge."

Thranduil's head snapped in her direction, his ice blue eyes narrowing and his dark brows drawing together so that they almost formed a single line. "That was entirely different. I knew the danger I was facing and thus had a certain amount of control."

The corner of Charlotte's mouth twitched up into a wry smile. "Ah, you like being in control. It all makes sense now. You, Mister, are a control freak!"

She could feel his gaze boring into her and she resisted the urge to look his way. Or squirm.

"Yes, Charlotte. Control is important. If one does not have control over a situation, one cannot prepare for all possible scenarios and outcomes. Sometimes, control is the only difference between life and death."

"Hmm...all I got out of that was that you think you're going to die in my car?"

"With your driving skills, I estimate the probability to be very high."

Charlotte resisted the urge to flip him the middle finger. Instead, she mentally counted to ten and let out a breath. "So what about your elk? I can imagine it's quite hard controlling an animal like that."

"My elk was obedient to a fault and I knew I could trust him to deliver me safely to my destination. How you can place such irrevocable trust in something as unnatural as...this is beyond me," he stated condescendingly.

"Hey! Don't diss my car! It has passed numerous safety standards," she retorted.

"It is only safe as the one who drives it. And you, dear Charlotte, are far from safe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, annoyance flaring at his words. "I'm an excellent driver."

Thranduil pressed his lips together in a thin line and slowly turned his gaze back to the straight stretch of road ahead of them, letting his silence be the only answer to her question. His thoughts drifted to their earlier interaction at the lake. He was not one for familiarity, especially with humans. So why had he let Charlotte in so easily? He had shared his fëa with her, something he would never consider doing with anyone else. So why had he done so with her? Thranduil puzzled over this, and decided that he would need to maintain a respectable distance from this little human. If not, he was sure the outcome would not be very good...