Disclaimer: Everything tha Tolkien has ever written belongs to his estate. i am just borrowing the characters for a while. :)
In a forest, where the tall trees still grew in the same places, despite the thousands of years that had passed since the last boat left to Valinor bearing the last of the elves on Middle-Earth. An old man walked leading a group of small children towards an unknown destination.
"Grandpa?" A small girl, with large green eyes and curly hair that could never stay put. "Why are we in a forest?"
"Yeah!" A boy suddenly shouted "What are we doing here? Didn't you say you were going to tell us a story?!"
The old man looked at them and smiled. "In order for this story to be told we have to go to a place with a very special meaning."
A boy looked at him. "But do we have to walk any further?" he whined "My feet are hurting."
"We are almost there." The old man stopped suddenly. "Ah, here we are." He said and pushed aside a branch. In front of the group lay a small meadow, surrounded by trees. A large tree, taller than the others stood in the middle. It was the only tree in that small meadow.
After the old man and the children settled down comfortably under the tree. The man started talking.
"There is a story, a story of love, of pain; like all those out there similar to this one. It does not end like the tragic tale of Luthien and Beren, nor will it excite those looking for something so different that none can find its match. It is only a simple narrative, rather an account of a well known person, or should I mention….elf." The old man paused
"Regarding those listening to such a story, I warn you, those whose immaturity makes them shout "Ewwwww!" and cover their eyes. Or even go running to jump behind thorny bushes; this story has all of those mushy gushy stuff. And you may never hear another story from me again if I have to spend a whole day picking thorns out of your skin. " He said and a boy, taller than the rest, turned a bright red while all the other children nodded.
It all started in the second age, a few years after the Battle of Dagorland. Many good, noble men and elves died in it; Gil-galad, the high king of the elves.
Gil-galad was an Eleven-king,
Of him the harpers sadly sing,
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.
His sword was long, his lance was keen
His shining helm afar was seen;
The countless stars of heavens field
Were mirrored in his silver shield.
But long ago he rode away,
And where he dwelleth none can say
For into darkness fell his star
In Mordor where the shadows are.
Elendil , the great king of men and Oropher who ruled over Greenwood and the rest you know."
"But what does the Battle of Dagorland have to do with anything?" A young boy interrupted.
The old man looked at the boy "If you interrupt again, you might never be able to hear the story. Be quiet or we will go back to the village and continue it another day, unless you raise your hand before blurting out the question."
The boy nodded.
"Now where was I…" The old men started. "Ah! After the battle! After the death of the Elven-king, Oropher, his son, Thranduil became king and ruled over the vast forests of Greenwood. He was a just and fair ruler and the kingdom prospered under his rule. This was before the evil started to spread changing the kingdoms name to Mirkwood.
Greenwood was and is a wild, wild place, too wild for us humans to live in. Only the elves wandered the hidden paths of the forest but there are places that even the elves themselves have not visited. It was and is a beautiful place; wild, colorful…..magical.
However King Thranduil felt burdened with the weight of the crown. He had no family and was the only one left of his line who still remained in Middle-Earth, while, at the same time him being king made sure that he could never have a true friendship with anyone, as they were too scared to address him without his title. He was alone and felt lonely, only one of his advisors remained his true friend, Hiruen. Hiruen was never afraid to voice his opinions about Thranduils decisions. Thranduil had the temper of a dragon, easily angered but also cold and distant." The old man paused seeing that a young girl had raised her hand.
He looked at her. "Yes?"
"Did Thranduil ever get married?" She asked shyly.
"Why yes." The old man smiled. "I was just getting to that part. You see King Thranduil had no interests in getting married. All the women he met were always looking to please him and were wanting his attention because he as a walking, unmarried money bag. He also had many plans which he wished to act upon and saw marriage as a chain that would pull him back and keep him from completing them. Until one day…
Thranduil ducked under a low tree branch, barely avoiding it on time. He was a tall, imposing figure that could strike fear in those who did not know him, at least those who knew him as a king. He led a lonesome life, surrounded by non-stop, boring chatter of the many advisors around him. Every day he would take a long walk through the forests outside of the city, alone, just him and the creatures of the woods. This was the only time he felt relaxed and comfortable.
He walked further and further into the forest, away from the city, deep in thought but enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Suddenly, he heard a faint melodic sound, drifting through the air, and Thranduil, a naturally curious person, veered towards the sound. All he knew is that it was a song sung by an elleth but he could not decipher the words. He walked slowly and carefully so as not to make any noise that may alert his location and scare her away. Thranduil had no idea why he was so interested in finding out who was singing that song, it was like he was in a trance.
After several long agonizing minutes, Thranduil could hear the song clearly and was at the edge of a very small meadow, which surprisingly had one of the tallest trees he had ever seen in the middle of it. He ran to it quickly and climbed it as fast as he could so that he could hide. Once settled comfortably in the branches he waited for the elleth to appear. Well, at least he thought she would appear here. Apparently, I was right. Thranduil thought happily, he was rarely ever wrong. The elleth appeared twirling under the tree, singing loud and clear, holding a basket full of apples in one of her hands. To Thranduil she was beautiful. Her face shown like the stars in the night sky. She had long blonde hair and wore a simple blue dress. Thranduil had a sudden urge to jump out of the tree and greet her, but he didn't, knowing that he may never hear the rest of the song. So he stayed and waited and watched. Everything about her was entrancing, even the words of the song that she was singing.
"Sailing! I am sailing! Home again, 'cross the sea. I am sailing, stormy waters, to be you, to be free! I am flying! I am flying! Like a bird, 'cross the sky. I am flying, passing high clouds, to be with you. Who can say? Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Through the dark night, far away? I am dying, forever trying. To be with you, who can say? I am dying, forever trying. To be with you, who can say…"
All of a sudden Thranduil jumped out of the tree, landing directly in front of her, making her jump in fright.
"My lady, what is your name?" he asked quickly before she could run away. He looked into her eyes and saw that they were a rare color of true emerald green.
The elleth stood the looking at him cautiously. She said nothing.
He took a few steps closer to her and repeated "My lady, what is your name?"
Before he could realize what was happening the elleth threw an apple in his direction. Thranduil barely had time to duck and he fell down, his head aching in pain and apple bits dripping from his forehead. For a second he lay there, wondering how he had ever ended up in such a situation. Suddenly he got angry, his famous temper getting the best of him and quickly stood up to chase that elleth who dared to throw an apple at her king. Her king! She already was far ahead of him but that did not deter him from his goal, catching that elleth and throwing her in the dungeon for a few nights! Thranduil felt as if his pride was ripped away from him, he was a king, with apple smooshed all over his head...In an instant, she had disappeared and he stopped trying to find a trace of her. Thranduil bent over to examine the ground; after all he was the best huntsman and warrior in his kingdom. He heard laughter behind him and spun around but there was no one. Then he felt pain explode on the back of his head. He put his hand there and felt more bits of apples. He heard laughter again from behind him and an apple hit his back. Then another one came from the front and hit his abdomen. Soon he was attacked by a cloud of apples coming from all directions. Thranduil was soon lying on the ground, breathing heavily and feeling very humiliated and in a lot of pain. He groaned. How will I explain all these bruises to Huiren?
Thranduil slowly got up and headed towards the city, he gave up on trying to follow her but he was still angry and vowed to search for her so that he could have revenge. At the same time, he also had a feeling of admiration for this elleth who boldly threw apples at him and managed to actually surprise him with her reaction. He let out a chuckle. She is the first who has ever repulsed my advances. He thought. And now I will try my hardest to get her to like me. At least a tiny bit.
Little did he know that a pair of emerald green eyes were watching him limp away from behind a tree.
This fan fiction is based on a very good friend of mine. She is absolutely crazy about the elven-king Thranduil. So this sort of a surprize for her. Review, because i would like to know your opinion about it!