𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 ➵︎ [ 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘧 ]

38| Giving in

^^I attached some of the music I was listening that inspired part of today's chapter. Give it a listen, it made me tear up.

Today's chapter is dedicated to WeirdassCappuccino . Thanks for the follow and the votes, I'm really glad that you're enjoying my book, so this special chapter is for you.

It's not as long as the others, but...just wait and see.

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The Golden Hall of Meduseld was very different at night, when everyone else was gone. It was so vast, and yet, so empty. So still. The only light came from the slivers of moonlight that entered the hall from above, and the flickers of warm candlelight dancing across my skin.

As I stood alone in the hall listening to the faint trill of insects outside, I wondered, how could the world be so peaceful when my mind and heart were in such turmoil?

The music stage, full of life and merriment just hours ago, now sat still and abandoned, illuminated by a pale band of moonlight.

I gently ran my fingers along the smooth wood of the harp, tracing my fingers along the engraving. I felt the familiar sensation of the strings between my fingers.

I had not played one of these in...centuries.

Finding myself drawn to the instrument, I sat myself down behind the harp. Hooking my index finger around a string, I pulled it back, before releasing the tension, letting the cascading and melodious sound fill every corner of the dark and empty hall, until it gradually waned into the quiet of night again.

I closed my eyes, raising both my hands and positioned them at the strings.

Drawing in a breath, I began to play.

With every pluck, the tension within gradually began to release into the vibration of the strings. My fingers glided across them as if I had never stopped playing as a child as I let all my sorrows, passions, love and despair flow through my fingers into the strings of the harp.

Every string was unique; every pluck was a different thread that weaved together to form a tapestry of emotions. The ebb and flow of the melody painted a beautiful story; a story of laughter and tears, of brilliant sunrises and tranquil sunsets, of loving embraces and forgotten memories.

A story of home.

A single tear ran down my cheek.

"I didn't know you could play."

A voice jerked me from the world within the harp strings.

I opened my eyes to see Legolas leaning against one of the pillars. Again, he'd somehow managed to approach without my notice. A silence enveloped the hall as the vibrations of the strings came to a halt.

"Yes, I..." I blinked away the tear, before letting my fingers begin to pluck the strings once again, my voice low. "...I learnt as a child."

He was silent as he listened to the flowing melodies of the harp resound into the air, every note, every emotion at the control of my fingertips as I continued to weave my story, trying to suppress any new tears that threatened to surface.

After a few more moments of escape, I sighed, finally letting my hands fall back down into my lap. A blanket of silence covered the hall once again.

I guess I couldn't evade him forever.

"Where did you go after you walked out?" Legolas asked, first breaking the silence. "You just...disappeared."