I was thoroughly blown away by Lee Pace's performance as Thranduil in The Desolation of Smaug. So really, I have Lee to thank for this work of Fanfiction. I always try to challenge myself when it comes to writing fics, and I thought this would be the perfect challenge (also, without a doubt, the toughest one I've taken on). Yes, this is a modern girl in middle earth fic. I know there are a lot of stigma's surrounding the concept, but I really think it is an interesting one and one worth exploring. I'm hoping that, if I can pull this off, it will be a compelling romance between a modern day girl next door and the Elvenking. Thank you for reading!
Stolen
Chapter 1
The Lonely King
Something is coming. The Elvenking, Thranduil knew not what it was that compelled him to leaving the protective walls of his underground fortress. Yet he could not ignore the restlessness tugging at his thoughts and monopolizing his attention. So he left his quarters and stepped outside, adorned in robes of azure and gold. They were the colors of summer, though he would not be wearing them for much longer.
It was almost dusk. His son would be training in the forest with the guardsmen, the cooks would be preparing the night's dinner, and soon the sun would slink behind the horizon, giving way to another August eve.
The king did not squint in the light of the sun, rather his steely eyes welcomed it's shining rays. He stood at the highest point of his kingdom, a balcony carved from the top of the rocky hills that lay on the northeastern border of the woodland realms. Most days, it served as a watch tower, a point from which the entire forest could be viewed in all its glory. And all its decay.
Thranduil turned his gaze to the south. Though it was miles upon miles away, the king's penetrating gaze could clearly see the southern borders of the forest. His silver eyes narrowed. He had found the source of his malaise. It lingered on the horizon like a ghostly shadow; waiting for the sun to fall and for the light to fade. Waiting for an opportunity to slink through the darkness and continue its vile work.
As he surveyed the lands, he felt a small twinge of remembrance prick his heart like a thorn. The dark presence that had spread throughout the forest was growing stronger.
It had come first in the south. It was, at the time, the heart of the forest. For it was there that Thranduil's father Oropher had erected his palace, Amon Lanc. For thousands of years, it served as home to the Silvan Elves and their new king. Thranduil had spent much of his life, wandering the gleaming palace. He mastered swordplay in the fields that lay to the west. And often spent time conversing with his mother in the gardens that littered the grounds. He had grieved the death of his parents alongside his people in its sacred halls. The Silvan elves were a noble if not wild bunch. And though at first their archaic ways were a fright to the young elf, Thranduil soon learned that they're way of life was better served than the fragile, dull lives of the elves he had known in childhood. The Silvan Elves had welcomed his father's rule and in return, Thranduil had been raised to appreciate and embrace the Silvan culture.
After his father's passing, Thranduil came to rule the elves of the Greenwood. And for over a century, his reign was blessed with security and harmony. However, long after the believed destruction of evil on battlefields far from his home, a dark power began to encroach on his kingdom.
The metamorphosis, at first, went unnoticed by the elves of the Greenwood; for it came on the eve of autumn's death. Most of the trees were bare and signs of decomposition were expected. As winter raged on however, the air did not thin. It became thick and a stench of sickness crept over the lands.
The trees shivered in the snow, but it was not from the cold. A powerful, black magic had taken hold of their roots. Spring arrived, but the southern Greenwood did not change as it had in past years. What was once a forest so vast and so lush with life and color, was no more. Even with the gentle light of the springtime sun, the woodland vegetation seemed trapped in eternal winter. Branches turned black, their veins dripping with disease. Flowers could not grow in the soil. The great elk that roamed the forest pathways, their food source having not yet bloomed, began to grow weak. Some left the south, looking for greener pastures and never returned. Others, still loyal to the elves of Amon Lanc, grew sick and their numbers dwindled to near extinction. But the flora and fauna were not the only casualties claimed by the dark presence.
Almost two dozen Silvan Elves fell. Among the dead was Thranduil's queen. Gilorndis, his star, was a native of the land. She was born in the forest and had never left in all her life. Thranduil had fallen in love with her spirit and her strength and was proud to choose her as his wife. When the elves were called by the allies to fight, Thranduil lead his armies and Gilorndis watched over their people. She bore Thranduil one son, Legolas. He was worthy heir, possessing his father's noble features and his mother's wild nature.
The loss of his wife would have been enough to send, but he had his duties as king and he knew that Legolas was not yet ready to take his place. He grieved as all elves do and, with are heart turned to stone, continued to live with one last ambition left to fulfill. He would not allow his people to perish under such disgusting forces. In order to ensure the safety of his kingdom and that of his son, Legolas, Amon Lanc was abandoned. He led his people to the north, where the forest was untouched by such foul things.
A new capital was built. This time however, the fortress was dug from the earth. The halls were carved of the rock, their form mimicking the trees above. Within the walls of this underground palace, his people would be safe from the intruding forces that sought to ruin them.
Thranduil surveyed his lands with stoic eyes. Dark storm clouds were barreling in from the West. The air was thick and the smell of soil wafted through the trees. Leaves shivered on their branches drinking in the last of the day's sunlight. The land was preparing for a summer storm. The last of the season.
Autumn would soon be upon the Woodland Realm.
The Wandering Woman
"Cheers!"
The chorus of blissful shouts came from a trio of young women sitting around a circular table in the corner of a popular little bar in Baiersbronn, Germany. It was a small, but bustling town. It sat on the edge of the Black Forest, a hot spot for tourists and local vacationers.
From the bar, a line of young men watched the girls carefully, wondering if any of them would get lucky on that clear summer's eve. Unfortunately for the watchers-on, the blonde, the brunette and the redhead were not interested in a night of a stranger's companionship. They had each other. And for now, that was more than enough.
The brunette, the only one not to erupt in the righteous celebration lifted her glass into the air.
"Cheers to you, Doctor Holly Crabtree." She said, tilting her glass to the small, but spritely redhead.
"And you Doctor Laura Perry," She said, turning to the slim, breezy blonde.
"And to you Doctor Noelle Sorenson," The two women said together. The trio clinked their large glasses in unison.
"Dr. Sorenson," Laura repeated after taking another swift sip from her glass. "That sounds the most professional."
"Professional as an old codger of an Anthropology teacher blathering the day away," Holly said, giggling.
Noelle snorted, almost choking on another swallow of wine.
"No, not teaching," She shook her head. "We swore we'd use our doctorates for good and not evil."
"Teaching's not evil!" Laura said.
"Seems like it." Holly mumbled into her glass.
"Not anymore," Noelle said, smiling. "Because we are free, ladies!"
They clinked glasses again, whooping and cheering.
Laura said thoughtfully, "I still can't believe it's been four months since graduation."
"Feels more like 4 days, sometimes…" Noelle agreed, thinking back over the whirlwind adventure that had been her summer.
"Ah, well, that's because of the wine-induced stupor we've been in ever since tossing our moter boarders in the air." Holly said, reaching for the bottle again.
Laura grinned. "I think you mean mortar boards, hon."
The three shared a dubious look before bursting into laughter.
"What day is it anyway?" Noelle asked, realizing it had been a while since she had spoken to her parents back in the states.
"August." Holly said, much too loudly.
"That's not a day." Noelle said, snickering.
"Wasn't this trip supposed to last a month?" Laura asked, her cheeks getting redder with each sip she took.
"It was." Noelle said, "But hey, with all our penny pinching we haven't run out of vacay funds yet. Why go back?"
"Yeah, back where those loans are waiting." Holly said, her eyes darkening.
The three women groaned and grabbed for their glasses again, only to find them empty as the three bottles that sat at the middle of the table like a tragically dry, once-flourishing fountain.
"It's a sign," Laura said, looking at her watch. "We should head back. S'late. And we've got to catch that bus at seven."
"Seven?!" Holly repeated, indignant. "Why on earth seven?"
"It's the first bus out," Noelle said, stifling a hiccup. "And we're going to want to spend the whole day at the site, trust me."
Holly groaned, twisting one of her curls round her finger and rolling her eyes playfully. "Oh right, nature girl needs her fix."
"It'll be fun!" Noelle said brightly, grabbing her sweater from the back of her chair. "I promise."
"You said that about that Intro to Anthro class, freshman year" Holly said, following suit.
"You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" Noelle said, teasingly.
"It's just a nature walk, Holly." Laura said, ever the middle ground. "Tomorrow's supposed to a sunny day, one of the last of the season. We should spend it outside."
"Fine, fine." Holly said, waving her hand dismissively. "But after we're done, we are going to that club we saw coming into town and Laura you are going to snag and snog a local boy."
"W-what?" Laura said, almost dropping the money she meant to place on the table.
"C'mon!" Holly pressed, looping arms with her shyer friend. "Noelle and I already ticked that box, I'll be damned if we finish this trip without you getting your turn."
Laura looked over her shoulder, casting a worried look in Noelle's direction. Noelle smiled reassuringly.
"We'll pick out a nice one." She said, looping her arm around Laura's free one.
The three roommates and longtime friends shimmied out the door and into the night.
Back at the bed and breakfast, Noelle stepped out of the bathroom. Both Holly and Laura had already had their turn for the night and they had both collapsed into bed, long lost to dreamland.
Noelle drifted past their beds and to the dresser that sat opposite hers right next to the window. A summer full moon, no doubt the last of the season, hung in the clear night sky. Noelle undid the tie that was keeping her long, dark hair confined to a fishtail braid. She then dipped down and grabbed an oversized tshirt from her duffle bag. Slipping out of her bra and blouse, Noelle pulled the shirt over her head, yawning as she did. After that, she shimmied out of her jeans and into a pair of cotton shorts.
Once properly dressed, she switched off the lamp on the dresser and crawled into her own bed. Looking up at the ceiling, she cursed herself for feeling no less tired than she had all day long. She was far too excited, thinking about what lay on the roster for tomorrow. She had been looking forward to this leg of the trip ever since she had begun packing her bags at her parent's home in North Carolina. In her studies as an Anthropological doctoral candidate, she had read much about The Black Forest and the recently discovered ruins that lay deep behind its borders. Finally, she had a chance to see them with her own two eyes.
Trying and failing to lull herself to sleep, Noelle cast an eye to her two friends. They had met as newly forged doctorate students desperately in search of roommates at Duke University. And while they had each chosen different areas of study, they became fast friends, bonding over their shared love of wine, endless hours of studying and Gilmore Girls marathons.
Now that their studies were done, it seemed it was time for them to go their separate ways.
Holly was ready to join her father and brother at the family law firm in Boston. And now that Laura had completed her studies in psychology, she was well on her way to establishing herself a legitimate playwright. She had been invited to premiere her doctoral piece in her hometown of Portland that December. It was an opportunity she couldn't turn down, even though it took her far and away from her friends.
As Noelle thought more and more about the futures of her dearest friends, she was overcome with the growing terror that, after almost ten years of pushing forward, she had finally reached that unforgiving, unknowable plateau that every young person eventually catches up to. Here she was, dangling on the edge of nothing because unlike her friends, she was entirely unsure of what she was meant to do next. Inside her chest a swirl of butterflies began to spin faster and faster until they threatened to spill from her mouth and start attacking her person.
Not tonight. Noelle thought. Those were the kind of thoughts that would most likely lead to a sleepless night. And she couldn't afford one of those.
She rolled over onto her side, reaching for her backpack that lay on the floor. Carefully, unzipping the front pocket, she pulled out her camera. It was actually one of her father's cameras. The cheapest, though by means mean cheap, digital one. It was a sturdy travel companion and Noelle had been snapping pictures every chance she got.
Rolling onto her back again, she turned it on and began rifling through the memories already made. Most of the pictures from the first 4 weeks abroad had been transferred to her laptop. London, Ireland and Paris had been dutifully logged into her many social sites, each album baring an exuberant title for those checking in back home.
The first of the pictures currently living in the camera were of the clubs and architecture of Austria and Norway.
Then there was Tristan. He had been Noelle's foreign conquest. He claimed to be a journalist, but Noelle had her doubts. Still he was gamely handsome, great in bed and his broken, accented English proved to be an unexpected turn on. Noelle had, in her tipsier state, allowed him to snap several provocative pictures of her. Those would most definitely never see the social field. They would stay, for a while at least, private little tokens she would keep all to herself.
As she clicked through the pictures, Noelle could finally feel sleep beckoning to her. She stretched her arms out and yawned, letting the camera slip from her grasp and make the short fall to the floor.
She pulled the blanket over her shoulders and peered out the window to watch the stars. As her eyes grew heavy, she wondered blissfully what sort of adventures the next day would bring.
Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for reading. This is the first chapter and I have this tendency to write much shorter first chapters. So if you choose to keep up with this story, do expect longer/fuller chapters. Lots of exposition and introductions this time around, things will really pick up in the next chapter! I would love to hear any thoughts you may have. Hope to *see* you next time!