Feigning Diamonds (A Thranduil Fanfic)

Chapter 5: Emerald

"He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass." -Ray Dalio

***

It is late. Thranduil has finally deemed it necessary that he get some sleep and is walking to his bedchambers tiredly. Once inside, he takes the crown off his head. As he does, he feels a great weight has been lifted from him, as if all his responsibilities have been diminished by taking off the one thing that names him king.

Shuffling outside his door startles him. It was his understanding that he was the only one awake.

Crossing the room again and peering outside the door, he sees the back of a familiar figure walking down the dimly lit hall.

He sighs but grins to himself. This isn't the first time Idriel has sleepwalked. Thranduil knows exactly where she intends to go: the gardens.

Deciding to stop her adventure short this time because it is colder tonight than most, Thranduil takes her arm carefully and guides her back to her own room instead. He knows better than to wake her.

"Where are we going?" she asks in a dreamy tone. "This isn't the way to the gardens."

"Yes, it is," Thranduil lies. "Just relax."

He guides her to her own bedroom. Opening the door, he tells her to go back to sleep.

"Alright," she agrees. "Can you tell Thranduil that I say goodnight? I think I forgot to."

She had indeed retired that day without addressing him at all.

Thranduil places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I will."

Satisfied, Idriel enters her room and goes back to sleep.

Thranduil jolts awake. He hasn't had a memory dream since Idriel left him. He remembers that night very well--it was the only night Idriel had ever spoken to him in her sleep--and he wishes he could see her.

He drifts off to dreamland too quickly, and this time pleasant dreams are not an option.

"My lord!"

Thranduil looks up at the elf. He looks exasperated, something elves rarely show.

"My lord, it is Idriel," he says. "She ran off while we were exterminating a spider nest and started fighting them herself. She has been poisoned!"

"Bring her to me," Thranduil commands. "I will be in my chambers."

The elf nods and runs to do his task. Thranduil goes straight to his room where he keeps a separate space for solvents and medicines for this type of emergency.

A different elf rushes inside carrying an unconscious Idriel. It is rare that elves are so affected by an injury, but spider venom is a different story--it is paralyzing. The elf places her on a wooden table as Thranduil mixes a solvent.

"Was anyone else hurt?" he asks.

"No, my lord."

"Why did she run off?"

"I do not know, my lord."

"Call everyone back from the hunt."

The elf bows respectively.

Thranduil examines Idriel. The wound is in her upper thigh. Blood soaks the fabric of her tunic and leggings, tainted with the poison. Idriel herself is pale beyond measure, almost blue, and her skin is icy.

Thranduil cleans the blood away from the wound. It is the size of his fist. He hurries to give her the concoction he has prepared. It is a fluid that when injected will reverse the effects of the venom, making it benign.

Once it is done Idriel begins to stir slightly, and Thranduil waits for her to wake. Her breathing is shallow, and her eyes open slowly.

"What happened?"

"You decided it would be wise to hunt on your own and almost got killed for it," Thranduil snaps. "What were you thinking?"

Idriel takes a deep breath and struggles to sit up. "I was thinking I would save my sanity and go off to be alone before my fellow hunters drove me berserk."

Thranduil cracks a smile. He remembers her complaining about some of the other leaders, who rarely took her advice, even though she was a leader herself.

"That is not an acceptable excuse," he says seriously. "If you do it again, I'll ban you from hunting."

"Oh alright." She sighs, standing successfully and wincing at the pain in her thigh.

"You frightened me," Thranduil says softly. "I do not like life-threatening situations."

"My apologies." Standing on her toes as high as she could she kisses him to show that her apology is sincere.

Thranduil is still shaken when he wakes the second time. Any time Idriel has been in danger has been frightening.

Spotting a harp in a corner of the room, he enchants it to play on its own, reminding himself of Idriel, who plays it beautifully.

*
Idriel does not sleep the night of her coronation. Not only is the falling chandelier giving her anxiety but also the thought of seeing Thranduil more often. She went without him for approximately sixty years; although she missed him, she's not sure she's ready to start being agreeable towards him again.

Being around Thranduil, and especially Legolas, brings back bad memories. They make her think of the night Thranduil had told her about his moment of weakness; they make her think of her own fault that occurred centuries ago; they make her think of her dead daughter.

When Idriel was very young, she made the same exact mistake as Thranduil. Lucky for her, she didn't have another lover she had to tell; the only person she had to face was Madrik, who had been her lover at the time.

But when she told him she was expecting a child, he panicked and fled that same night. Distraught, Idriel had searched for him herself only to come up empty handed. Some years later, after their daughter had been born, Madrik's body was found at sea. To this day, Idriel doesn't know how he died.

But she did not eternally mourn for her deserter. She had her daughter, and she was enough.

Cortana. She was possibly the only one who brought joy into Idriel's life during those two short decades she lived. They were very alike, Cortana and Idriel. The only thing she acquired from her father was her dazzling blue eyes. And perhaps her closeness to death.

Cortana had died aboard a ship coming back to the port that lies outside of the woods of Mirkwood. She'd been studying Middle Earth, and her return ship struck a jagged promontory in the night that sunk it in less than two hours. When news came back to Mirkwood some weeks later, Idriel fled and was not seen for days as she mourned.

Idriel now holds a steadfast hatred for the sea. It took away two people she loved once. She's never forgotten either of them, Madrik or Cortana, and she often thinks of them and ventures out to the edge of the sea to ponder. She will never set foot in a boat or swim in a body of water where the edges are not defined. She wouldn't be able to bear it.

Thranduil knows all of this; he was present for most of it. He mourned both of their deaths with her. Ultimately, it was what brought them together. Idriel thinks this is another reason why Thranduil's weakness hit her hard. He'd been there for her in times of despair, he'd promised to wash away her sadness and fear, but in the end, all he did was add to it.

So why does she still love him?