Thranduil / Reader (13) - Part 2
No, you couldn’t allow this to happen. You couldn’t let the man you loved so very deeply die just so you could have him for yourself. Besides, if the elf died now, he would sink to the bottom and then come back as someone completely different; a shadow of someone he had once been, a spirit without any memories or feelings and the man you loved would be dead anyway. Therefore you had to do the right thing and try to save him even though there was a real chance that your decision would bite you in the ass. It would most likely get you into deep trouble because saving the elf meant that you had to cross the border between the worlds in order to drag him to the shore.
You focused your mind and gathered all willpower you had within you. You could feel the other sirens staring at you, waiting for you to rip the elf’s soul off from his body but for their surprise you slipped your arm under his and started to swim to the surface, kicking with your legs as furiously as you could to put some distance between the elf and the hungry predators. The last bubbles of precious air had just escaped from the elf’s lungs and you knew that you were running out of time, besides you felt your strength being drained the closer to the border you got… but you couldn’t give up now. Oh no, you would fight your way up and save the elf even if it was the last thing you did.
The world below did not want to let the elf go and therefore you felt your feet constantly getting tangled with seaweed that normally just swayed freely in the water. Now it was reaching out for you and trying to stop you by grabbing your ankles and pulling you back… but you kept struggling and kicking until you were out of their reach – free. Finally the ocean of twilight and endless void faded away and you found yourself only few meters below the surface in the small forest lake. You pushed through your state of exhaustion and swam to the shore, dragging the lifeless elf with you, keeping his head above the surface.
You lay him on his back the beach, the rays of sun drying your delicate skin, almost like burning it and causing painful cracks to appear all over your back and arms while you tried to find any signs of life to give you some peace of mind. There were none. The cold, bitter tears started to pour out from your eyes, landing on the elf’s cheeks as you stayed there, knelt beside him and bent over him, trying to figure out what to do. You took a deep breath and filled your lungs with oxygen, pressed your mouth on his very firmly and exhaled. However suddenly you realized that there was water coming out from his nose and when you pulled back, you noticed that you were breathing out water instead of air.
This realization shocked and for few seconds you were unable to do anything but to stare at the unconscious elf with wide eyes in horror. You shook this overwhelming feeling of helplessness away and instead of giving up, you raised yourself a little and placed your arms on his bare chest; you would pump the water out since you couldn’t fill his lungs with air. You kept pumping the water out with your entire body weight until the elf gasped and started to cough violently. The love of your life was alive, just barely though.
Then it hit you, your own situation; you were gasping for air, like a fish out of water, on the verge of passing out, your skin aching from the burning sunshine and you were getting weaker by every passing second. Therefore you rolled the elf on his side as an attempt to help him to get the water out from his lungs and brushed his silver hair softly before crawling back to water and continuing to follow the events from below the surface. You waited… and waited until the elf sat up, got dressed and left. After that you spent the rest of the day just crying until the sun went down and the darkness covered the lake.
You decided to dive back to your own world, desperately hoping that your actions would be forgiven but as you dived down, it being harder than the usual, you realized that even though you dived down from the deepest point, you only reached the bottom of the lake. You were confused, feeling the white stones with your fingertips but no… the way was shut and you had no access to the world below anymore. Then suddenly, like that wasn’t bad enough, you felt a terrible urge to breathe. As a spirit, you had not had the need to breathe and when you had felt like you had been suffocating while waiting for the elf to wake up, you had just assumed that it had been due to a fact that the sirens couldn’t survive on dry land. Now… it was different. Your shape… no… body felt different.
You gasped for air and water filled your lungs, sending a wave of sheer panic all around your newly formed body. It hurt, the water in your lungs felt like you had been stabbed from the inside and it took an enormous amount of strength to fight the darkness that was sliding over you like a blanket, warm and inviting but also deadly. Four meters… three meters, two meters… one meter… surface. You gasped for air and started to cough immediately, unable to swim to the surface and struggling to stay afloat. You swam to the shore, splashing around like it had been the first time you were in water and finally your toes touched the white, smooth stones.
A deep sense of relief filled your mind and you walked to the shore with shaky feet, puzzled and deeply confused about the whole thing. What did this mean? You knew that you had crossed the border and therefore left the world below and this was your punishment; to live in the world above until the first snow fell and then turn to mist, to haunt the surrounding forest until the end of time, trapped between two worlds, completely alone. You decided to ignore the last part and to focus on the fact that you were now a physical being, a woman, in the world where the love of your life lived. Perhaps if he fell in love with you too, the magical forces that had created everything would let you live… and even if not… you would have the entire summer as well as autumn to be more alive than you had been for a long time, or ever.
You fell on your back to lay on the stones and fell asleep. You did not have any dreams, just… nothing but unconscious blackness… until the first rays of sun woke you up. The forest looked so different like this; the trees were so tall, climbing all the way up to the sky, the sunlight glimmering gently and reflecting from the surface of the pond, the wind playing with the lush green leafs and their shadows dancing on your skin that was pearly white like the stones you were laying on. The rays of morning sun did not hurt you and unlike previously, your skin did not get covered with painful cracks from drying… now… it was actually pretty pleasant.
The hours passed and soon it was midday. You decided not to waste any more time just laying there; your future was waiting for you and unlike before, you had a literal deadline this time. You sat up, got on your knees and then forced yourself to stand. It did not take more than a minute and few steps when you collapsed to the ground, your legs shaking, on the verge of cramping, completely exhausted. You rested for a moment and then tried again, taking few steps at a time, hugging trees as you fought your way along the narrow, winding path into the forest.
“Don’t give up. Don’t you dare to give up! This is what you wanted, isn’t it? You stupid fool. You can be a fool but you can’t be a fool and a quitter. Just… one step at a time, breathe. You’re alive. Now, focus.”
You kept telling yourself this because it would have been so much easier just to lay down on the soft, wet moss and fall asleep but you knew that if you gave up now, you would surely regret it later, especially if you got attacked by some wild animal or something. The harsh reality was that as long as you were out in the forest all alone, you were weak and defenseless. You were barely able to stand up and move so defending yourself from an animal attack was not an option. You had seen terrible creatures falling into the lake and then sinking to the bottom untouched by the sirens; even your kind did not touch orcs and other foul creatures.
It was the morning of the next day, just after sunrise, when you managed to attract the attention of some elf lady who was collecting flowers in the forest. She saw you, gasped from surprise and then quickly ran to you. She was talking to you but you couldn’t understand a word she said which caused you to panic a little. However the lady stepped backwards, raised her hands up as a sign that she wasn’t going to hurt you and after this you quickly realized that she just wanted to help you. You filled your lungs with air a couple of times and rubbed your arms while the lady unbuttoned her long, plain yet beautifully decorated coat. After taking the garment off, she walked to you very slowly and helped you to get dressed in it. Then she closed the buttons so your body, especially your delicate feminine curves, wouldn’t get exposed to the curious eyes.
The woman spoke calmly to you while walking you slowly towards a small elven village where she immediately called two guards who were soon going to return to the palace. The guards had long brown hair and very graceful features, they wore dark brown armors that looked like they had been made of scales, brown pants with long leather boots and carried bows and arrows, although you did not know what those were. You just recognized that sometimes the horrible creatures that had fallen into the lake had been covered with pointy things like those and therefore you knew that those were some kind of weapons.
The guards took a long look at you from head to toes and rolled their eyes. You had never seen your own reflection but you had a feeling that the guards thought that you looked either ugly or weird. The woman kept talking to them, most likely describing how she had found you in the forest, naked, and she had given you her coat and brought you here. The guards gestured the woman to go so she dropped a curtsy and left. Then they continued talking to each other and after a moment, they started talking to you, asking plenty of questions but you couldn’t understand anything. Every time you tried to say something, anything, they gestured you to be silent and then the taller of them two grabbed your arm and started walking you to their horses.
You reasoned that they were going to take you somewhere, possibly to their leader, which was actually a good thing. It was great because the elves here in the village were dressed in very plain clothes but the man you had saved had always worn very fine, regal clothes so it meant that he was someone important and perhaps, if you were lucky enough, someone knew him and after you had had an opportunity to explain everything… somehow… you would be taken to him and surely he would recognize you. Surely. Therefore you did not object and followed the guards voluntarily. You were helped to sit on a horse with the taller elf and after few hours of riding through the forest, you arrived to the gates of a palace.
The elf hopped off and gestured you to jump down as well, but when you did, your feet gave in as soon as they hit the ground and you ended up lay on the rough ground that was covered with gravel. It was painful and you felt your skin bruising, your knees and palms getting covered with tiny cuts from the sharp stones, but before you managed to even recover from the sudden pain, you were pulled up and walked into the palace. The tall elf was not exactly gentle and sometimes he was pulling your arm quite hard, which caused you to gasp and this, being treated like you were a dangerous criminal, filled your mind with fear and doubt. What if this was a terrible mistake? What if the ruler of this realm was a cruel person who would… what? You had no idea what happened to strangers in this realm. In yours trespassers drowned and their souls were ripped away from them and then trapped to haunt the waters forever. Perhaps the elves did something similar. You were absolutely horrified, nearly incapable of walking forward so the taller guard had to drag you constantly, which made you even more scared, making it harder to catch your breath and keep your mind somewhat clear so you wouldn’t surrender to the state of panic.
You were taken to an enormous hall where there was a staircase with some kind chair in the middle, the throne most likely. You saw someone sitting there, high up, and when you got closer you realized that it was the man you had saved, the elf, the love of your life. You sighed relieved and a smile appeared on your face as your feet started to feel lighter and your whole body got electrified from excitement. You had had no idea that the man was the king of this realm but now that you thought about it, it made sense. He had an aura of someone powerful and important, an aura of a king. You scolded yourself silently for not realizing it sooner.
The man did not get up, he stared at you and the guards, asked some questions and seemed very bothered about the entire thing. You kept smiling hopefully until he rolled his eyes, scoffed and glared at you. The smile left your face immediately and confusion mixed with deep sorrow took over. He was not happy to see you… quite the opposite actually… The tall, beautiful elf did not recognize you, at all. You stood there in a state of shock, unable to react or say anything while the king talked to you. You couldn’t understand him, you couldn’t understand any of it. It had been only a day or two, you were not sure how long you had slept by the lake after getting out from water, since you had saved the elf’s life and now he was basically shouting at you and demanding to know who you were.
Eventually he got up, walked down the stairs and approached you. He took a slow glance at you from head to toes as he towered over you, standing so close that it was making you feel dizzy, but not in the good way. You just wanted to cry and to explain everything but as long as you were feeling so emotional and distressed, you wouldn’t be able to say a word… especially when you knew that the elf wouldn’t understand your language. It was obvious that you did not share a language and that was a problem, especially because he did not recognize you. The elf leaned closer and whispered something into your ear from a very close distance, his warm breath on your cool skin, landing on your neck and traveling down from the V-shaped neckline of the coat. He stayed close for a moment too long and then quickly returned to stand straight in front of you with a perfect posture.
- Now, let's try this again, shall we? the elf said, his tone deep and assertive. You stepped back as an involuntary reaction when you realized that you were able to understand him. He explained to you casually that he had put a spell over you so you were able to understand him and speak in Elvish as well. You sighed relieved and smiled a little, although you were on alert constantly and were hesitating your every action. “Who are you and why did you enter my kingdom?” the king said and when you did not answer, he demanded loudly “Speak!” You took a deep breath, went quickly through everything you wanted and needed to say and then opened your mouth… but no voice came out. Nothing. Just silent air.
- This is not the time to keep secrets, my Lady. the king demanded, his mood clearly getting more annoyed and frustrated. “Tell me your name” he said and glared at you. You tried to speak again but the same happened. No voice, no sound… just… silent air. You touched your throat and mouthed two words without a sound “Oh no.”
- King Thranduil, I think she is... the taller guard said with a mocking tone and then added “…A mute, my Lord.” The guard’s tone was cold and it was quite apparent that he was both amused and disgusted because of you.
- A mute. the king said with a slightly mysterious tone that was impossible to read. Was he more or perhaps less annoyed with you now compared to what he had been, or had this revelation made any difference? You did not try to talk anymore; clearly your physical form was not physically capable of speaking. What a pathetic joke this was! A huge mistake, the whole thing.
“No, not the whole thing. I do not regret saving you, my love, even though you do not recognize me and therefore I am nothing but a stranger to you and that is how you stare at me, with deep discontent in your eyes, bothered, annoyed… wishing I wasn’t here, probably counting the seconds to get rid of me. Believe me, King Thranduil, I wouldn’t have come if I had known what kind of mess this will be. But I do not regret saving you… my love.”
- Is that so? Thranduil asked, keeping his eyes fixed upon you while trying to decide whether you were a friend or a foe. You were neither an elf nor a human, in fact, he had never seen anyone like you; your hair was long, wavy and quite messy, the color was a mixture of white, light blue and teal, almost like it had been a combination of every color of water and sea foam, darker from the under-part and lighter from the tips and top-part, wildly floating down from your shoulders to your lower back. Your skin was pearly white like the stones that decorated the shore of the lake and the color of your eyes was very light blue, like water. Your eyelashes were long and nearly white, the color matching your eyebrows perfectly. You looked…weird by the elven standards and it was no wonder why everyone had been staring at you whenever you had encountered elves on your way to the king.
- Very well. Thranduil said and added “Take her away, I am not in the mood for this right now” nonchalantly.
- Move! The taller guard shouted and pushed you to walk to the direction of the stairs that led down to the lower levels of the palace.
- Not to the dungeon, guard! the king stated and groaned. He clearly was not in the mood for any additional fuss.
- But we do not know who she is. She could be an enemy, my Lord. the guard reasoned, his tone firm but respectful. You took a fearful glance at the guard when he said the word “enemy” because you realized that you had no way to defend yourself either verbally or physically… not that starting a fight was a good idea in any case. The king walked to you and for the first time you dared to look directly into his eyes when he stopped to stand right in front of you.
- Are you? he asked, sharpened his eyes and stared right into your soul. “Nod for yes, shake your head for no” he spoke, his voice surprisingly soft this time. He asked you with a calm tone “Are you here to hurt us?” You shook your head immediately while the king kept his gaze fixed in your eyes and reading you to find out whether you were lying or not.
The king nodded and then stepped back to give you your personal space back. You had hoped that you would have gotten some kind of confirmation of recognition from him, a smile at least, but no… all you got was a nod to verify that you were not an enemy… which of course was a relief by itself. It just wasn’t exactly what you had hoped for… but then again, you had hoped for a lot; you had hoped to run into the elf’s arms and to tell him how much you loved him… and you had hoped to share this summer with him so when the first snow fell you would be content and ready to accept your lonely fate.
- No, she is not. the king said to the guard and continued assertively “The maid will prepare a guestroom. I trust you, Elros, make sure the lady will not be bothered.” It was quite apparent that the guard did not like the king’s decision to be so soft towards you and even though he couldn’t object, he made it known with his body language that he did not agree with Thranduil. “Get some rest, my Lady. You look exhausted. We'll talk later” Thranduil said and gestured the Guard named Elros to take you away to your chamber. You looked once over your shoulder while being escorted further and further away from the throne, your eyes lingering on the magnificent, hauntingly beautiful sight.
- You might have wrapped the king around your little finger, but mark my words, I'll be watching you. Elros said and then added “Don't try anything foolish” with a tone that carried a deep undertone of threat. You shook your head and followed the guard without any objections. He stopped to speak with a maid, ordered her to prepare a guest chamber for “This bizarre creature” as he called you and after less than ten minutes you were escorted to your new lodging. The guard left the room and reminded you about not trying anything foolish because for some reason he saw you as a threat… despite the fact that you were not very tall and your body looked very fragile and weak.
You walked cautiously in the room, checking the places out curiously but constantly staying on alert, just in case the rude guard, who clearly hated you, came back. You did not want to get caught off guard by him and therefore you kept your mind as sharp as possible. Your chamber had a separated sitting room, a small one with two armchairs and a table in front of a cozy fireplace, a bedroom with large windows into the garden and then there was a small bathroom with all necessary facilities, including a bathtub, a sink and a mirror.
You walked to the mirror and for the first time you saw how you looked. Frankly, you looked pretty much the way you had assumed, considering that you had seen other sirens and you were just a fleshier version of a siren, and you thought that you looked quite… pretty. Sure you looked very tired now and your eyes were filled with grief and confusion but… you couldn’t understand why the elves seemed to despise you so much. Perhaps it was just the fear of unknown and unfamiliarity. Maybe. Then there was a knock at the door. You were just about to open your mouth and shout “Come in” when you realized that you couldn’t speak so you just walked to the door and opened it yourself.
- My Lady. the elf-lady said and dropped a curtsy before entering the room. “I am a healer” she said with a friendly tone and then continued “The king ordered me to check on those bruises of yours.” You backed away and let her enter, but despite her calming aura, you still were on alert, ready to take cover or to run away if needed. “Do not be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you” the lady said, placed the basket she was carrying on the dressing table. She took out some supplies and then asked you to sit on the table in front of her.
- How strange. You bleed... water. she mumbled and then added with a barely audible tone “What are you?” The question made you feel embarrassed so you just turned your face away and pretended that you had not heard the comment at all. The healer cleaned your bruises as well as your wounds, put bandages on the ones that looked the worst and then said “All done” with a cheerful tone. She smiled, took her things and after dropping a curtsy, left. She asked you to rest because you would surely heal faster if you did. Besides the king wanted talk with you later, like he had said, and therefore it was important that you were well-rested when it was time to reply some vital questions.
“Reply how?”
You walked to the bed and sat on the edge, The bed was soft and large, the linen silky and light. You lay down and hugged the pillow as you allowed yourself to drift away. Comfortable numbness, welcoming darkness… You felt like you had been sinking down… further down… all the way to the bottom of the earth as you fell asleep. You did not have any dreams… just random flashes of… sailing… the sound of seagulls crying in the distance and the waves hitting the sides of the boat, rocking it from side to side, so gently. Wind in your hair, golden light of the rising sun on your face.
Three loud knocks. You recoiled immediately and sat up, got up from the bed and then fell to the wooden floor accompanied with a loud thump. Your feet were still learning how to carry you and this kind of sudden movements were banned still, if only you had remembered it before getting up! The maid entered the room, put the things she was carrying to the dressing table and then ran to you. She helped you up to sit on the edge of the bed once more and then walked to the dressing table. She presented you a gorgeous gown that was made of light blue silk and had greenish embroideries running from the hem all the way up, framing the neckline as well as the large, long sleeves that were pretty standard for the elvish fashion.
- My Lady, the king sent you this gown to wear. the maid said and then continued with a friendly yet neutral tone. “He has requested you to join him at a dinner” she said and smiled. You tested your feet and walked to the maid when she gestured you to. “I'll help you to get dressed” she added and without saying anything more, she started to unbutton the coat that you were still wearing, it was the only thing that you had to wear… until now. You got undressed, washed off few stains of dirt from your arms and legs and then put on the gown with the maid’s help. It was a nearly perfect fit, just slightly too long, but it was no surprise because you were shorter than the elves in general. You sat down by the dressing table and waited patiently while the maid brushed your hair and braided it partially according to the elvish traditions, just to keep it in control. Wild hair was no option in the court of Mirkwood, apparently. After the maid had finished you hair, she handed you a pair of delicate shoes and said
- The guard will escort you to the dining hall now.