There and Back Again: A Queen's Tale

Written by: Anime Girl Kim

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LOTR characters, only my own

Prologue

Wine would not help the Elven King of Mirkwood at this time of day. Night was already descending, darkness washing over the underground palace. All he had were the numerous lit candles and the faint sound of the river, as Thranduil brooded in his study. He downed the glass of red liquid in his hand, gritting his teeth as the wine left a burning trail down his throat.

Even after so many millennia, the pain still thrived inside him, like a fire kept ablaze. It hurt, so much; the burning of wine multiplied a billions times, a trillion times. Her face was etched into his mind, unable to erase. His wife was gone, so long gone; but why? Why did it fucking hurt so much? Many say time heals pain, but to Thranduil, it did not. Time only made matters worse.

"So many millennia…" Thranduil groaned bitterly, letting his head droop, falling into his palms, his long golden hair spilling down over his hands. His massive headache made him feel even more miserable. "Why does it hurt so much after so long?"

They were supposed to live eternity, side-by-side, sail to the Undying Lands together. But then, the Battle of Mount Gundabad happened, and she was killed. There was no body, no grave, nothing. He wanted to howl in agony, make the pain stop, make everything stop. It was too much.

He couldn't even say goodbye to her, couldn't even hold her in his arms one last time before she disappeared, forever. The scouts he had sent had never found her body. Many times, he had hoped, that she would come back, come back to him alive and breathing. A hopeless hope. "Hervess nín," the King whispered. "I mourn for thee…"

And he recalled, that horrible moment he had heard her scream for him one last time…

There were too many, Thranduil barely had time to hack down a few Orcs before others took their places. He could not see his wife, nor of his kin, all was hidden by the waves of the enemies they were fighting.

"Meleth nin!" Thranduil cried. "Where are you?" He kicked an Orc away from him, slicing through another's armor.

"Thranduil!" He heard her, and immediately looked up, his eyes desperately searching for the small frame of his wife. "Hervenn!"

And he saw her, fighting against three huge Orcs, weaving through the bodies as fast as she could on her light feet, trying to keep the enemies away. "Meleth nin!" Thranduil cried, trying to fight his way over.

She screamed, the sound piercing the air. "Thranduil! Anno dulu enni!"

And her form was swallowed up by the Orcs.

He remembered screaming, trying to find where she had disappeared. But he never found her, even after the battle. Not a trace of his wife. Nothing.

Thranduil gasped, coughing as he broke from the memories. His slender fingers tightened into fists, clenching together so tightly until his knuckles turned white. Against his own will, his hand unclenched, the fingers finding the handle of the last drawer on his desk. With a light pull, he slid it open. There, resting in the small wooden compartment, still shining clean and bright, was a portrait of his wife.

His wife smiled at him from the portrait, her blonde curls spilling down her back. Her bright grey-blue eyes were filled with life, so living and so full of love, so real, never had he ever thought she would die, so soon, too soon. A memorial was held, a memorial for the Queen of Mirkwood, along with a golden casket. An empty golden casket. Empty of body but full of grief and despair.

The portrait clattered to the surface of the wooden desk, as Thranduil drew a ragged breath. His free hands were shaking. They curled into fists once again as he stood up, almost knocking over his royal chair. He couldn't take this any longer. With a swish of silver fabric, he stormed out of the room.

Little did he know, a far far distance away, another elf was also remembering her other half.

To be continued…

Translations:

Hervess nín: My wife

Meleth nin: My love

Hervenn: Husband

Anno dulu enni: Help me

A/N: Okie dokie. Prologue done. I absolutely loved Thranduil ever since I saw the character, Lee Pace really is hot, and he did a perfect job at portraying Thranduil. This story was an idea in my head that I JUST Had to write down. So, what do y'all think? Please give me your feedback, review/follow/favorite all you want.

Really, to be honest with myself, this chapter sucks badly. I wrote a much better draft on my iPad, literally. I did a little edit, but it wasn't enough. Hope Thranduil isn't a bit too OOC. And the ending was a bit… blah. I'm not even sure 'other half' is the right usage, urgh. I'm losing my mind over here.

When I wrote this, I had absolutely no idea what Chapter 1 should be about, since the draft on my iPad was lame. So I really need you guys to give me some ideas and feedback.

I'm not sure all of the elvish phrases are correct, please pardon me if it is incorrect. I don't have many reliable sources. -_-

And also, I want you guys to decide what Thranduil's wife's name shall be.

Will it be: Krystal, Eruanna, Raina (pronounced Rye-nah), Cristiel (pronounced Krys-tee-ell), Amoniel (pronounced Ah- mon-niell), or Erudessa?

Either post your answer in the reviews or go to the poll on my profile. Thank you!

If I don't get enough votes, I can't post the next chapter. So if you want me to update sooner, you know what to do!