Chapter 49
Draco's nervous worry that the King was plotting something was not for nothing either way. He knew that there was something going on in the Elf's mind, he would be an idiot not to see the lingering looks of interest in the Elf King's eyes. For as much as Elves may be good at masking their emotions, his father was also good, and Draco had a long history of needing to identify even the slightest emotional nuance between his father and himself, or anyone else to ensure his most practical safety. He had gotten quite good at reading emotions from normally unreadable faces. Though, even the Elf King had not made it all that hard to determine their curiosity and fascination towards his person.
Really, Draco did not know what more he expected. Whilst he had hoped that he could fly under the radar for the most part, he should have prepared more for the chance that such a thing would not happen. He had been caught unawares quite a few times by now, and it was dangerous. He had pretty much doomed himself by trying to avoid angering the King in the first place, because that was likely what had caught his attention. He knew that it was nothing he could do about that now, but it was still frustrating. He was sort of agitated that he was now stuck in this...weird theme at this. He had drawn the King's attention, and for some reason now it would seem he was stuck with it. It certainly did not seem likely that he was going to escape it anytime soon.
The King had just sent a stupid messenger informing him that he was going to be stuck going with the King to some tour of...the outside. Draco was not entirely sure, he would have to ask Legolas. He was glad that the Prince was going to be there, but at the same time he really had no idea what he was supposed to be doing when it came down to it. The King seemed to want him around, and while that was good to some extent, meaning that he was not going to be tortured, thrown in the dungeons, or thrown out of the forest with no regard for his safety, it also meant that he had to be around Thranduil more and more. THe other seemed to be actively trying to find reasons, and when finding was not able they would create reasons, to spend time with Draco, and he was not entirely sure how he felt about that. The Prince had warned him this could happen, and when Draco had shared his concerns with the Prince in their room a few days prior, they had admitted to the fact that Draco was right to be unnerved and possibly worry about their father plotting something.
However, dragging Draco and Legolas on a tour of the forest was not entirely something that Draco had expected. Perhaps he should have, and perhaps he was stupid for not anticipating it, but while he knew Legolas had said that Thranduil would try and get him alone, he just...well he just assumed that alone would still be somewhere within the palace limits. Instead they were headed outside of them, traipsing about who knows where. Draco did not really feel all that comfortable wandering around a potentially deadly forest, but what more could he really do? He was stuck dealing with this reality which was...he could not really refuse anything. Well, he could refuse to go and see where that led him, but he already knew that it would be nowhere good. He would prefer to remain with all of his limbs working the way that they should, mind anyone else.
There was, however, one more thing that had been concerning him. He had not been able to get into contact with Haldir, and in fact, Legolas had also been made rather scarce as of late. He knew why. Haldir was likely attempting to avoid the King as much as possible considering the other had made his agitation towards the Lothlorien elf quite clear, and that was beware. Draco himself did not particularly understand what it was that was pissing Thranduil off so much regarding Lothlorien, but he was aware enough that it had definitely not been a good idea for Haldir to come along with him and Legolas. Not that he could have stopped him from doing whatsoever it was that he wanted in the first place, Draco was not that naive. He could try the imperius curse, but he doubted that it would work. Elves'...well their minds were vast, Draco did not think that it was a good idea to even attempt to try.
Draco curled the missive that Thranduil had sent his messenger to give him inbetween his fingers. His teeth were grit, and he really had no idea what more he should do from here. A part of him longed for his return to his world, or universe, or whatever it may be called. At least he knew what he was getting into no matter what he did when he was there. Here...everything seemed so complicated, and he did not know what to do about it. Half of the time he felt as though he were making vital mistakes and he did not know how to fix them. For as much as Thranduil seemed similar to his father in personality, and Legolas in looks (or rather both in looks), they were not like his father, which meant that he had to be more careful dealing with them.
He would admit, a part of him was excited to go on this outdoor tour, but there was an even bigger part of him that was wary of it. There was always a reason that Kings tended to do things, particularly ones such as Thranduil, and he shuddered to think what the reason was for this sudden jaunt outdoors. It could be just that Thranduil wished to go outdoors, but then why invite him of all people, and furthermore Thranduil had been quite keen on ensuring that they stayed within the palace borders. There was something to this outing that Draco just did not understand, and he hated not understanding things. It was dangerous.