Treacherous Paths 2: Choices
A/N: Here is the sequel to Treacherous Paths. It is a must read, otherwise you are likely to get lost and not know what is happening.
Summary: The path to true love is never an easy one and neither are the consequences.
Warnings: A bit of angst and descriptions of injuries.
Rating: For the moment, K.
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognisable characters.
Chapter 1
The pair stepped into the courtyard and found everything in chaos. Thranduil signalled for Barasath to lower himself so that he could climb off. The prince looked around and spotted Oropher speaking to a group of soldiers while Theliel was standing nearby, watching the commotion.
Looking up from the group, Oropher spotted Thranduil standing near the entrance. He walked up to him in large strides and took him roughly by the shoulder, "Where in Mordor have you been!!" He whispered so not to be heard by the surrounding elves.
The crowds stopped what they were doing and surrounded the two royals. They all were overjoyed to see their beloved prince safely returned, but Oropher's expression told another story, "Leave us!!" His voice resonated throughout and the crowd quickly dispersed, "Answer my question!!"
Theliel walked gracefully over to them, her facing beaming at seeing her son again. She swiftly pulled him into a hug.
"Ai!! Naneth, I missed you too but please, not so hard."
The queen quickly pulled away and noticed that he was in a lot of pain, "My son, what has happened to you?"
Oropher chose that moment to speak up, interrupting Thranduil just as he was about to explain, "That is what I would like to know and where you were!!"
"My lord, I was at Lake-town, not on a scouting mission." He looked at his parents and found that he could not read his mother's reaction but fury was clearly seen in Oropher's eyes.
"I knew it!!" Oropher's patience was quickly growing thin, "Why did you lie to me, your king!!"
Thranduil tried his best to stand at his full height, "I have my reasons, reasons that you would never understand, my lord." He said quietly. All of a sudden, his body was ravished with pain and he had no choice but to bend over, clutching his ribs.
Celebrial quickly placed her hand on his back to comfort him, not caring who was watching.
Oropher did not notice this, all he saw was his son bent over in pain, "You see!! This is what you get for lying to me and deceiving me!! Not only that, you rebelled against me!! What do you have to say for yourself!!"
Tears of pain collected at the corners of Thranduil's eyes and his teeth were set in a grimace. He tried his best to straighten himself again but found it too agonizing, "My lord, I – " He could not finish his sentence for he found himself falling to the ground while everything was growing darker. He felt gentle arms trying to slow his descent. After that he could not recall anything.
Theliel called for Miluion, their head-healer and most trusted friend – he moved with them from Doriath to Greenwood the Great. He came rushing out with two other healers, who were carrying a stretcher. He knelt down next to the prince and began doing an analysis of his injuries, "Three broken ribs and two cracked ones, a good number of bruising. I suspect his right leg may be broken, but I cannot be too certain with the amount of swelling there is. I cannot detect any sort of spinal injury. I am afraid I am going to have to get him to the healing-wing and do some further assessing."
The two other healers deftly lifted Thranduil onto the stretcher and swiftly, yet carefully, carried him away.
Celebrial did not know what to do. She wanted to follow them, but she was not sure if that would be allowed, but she did not want to stand around either, especially being a stranger. But her worry for Thranduil over-rode all other feelings of anxiety.
Theliel remained behind with her, as Oropher disappeared along with the healers. She looked to Celebrial for the first time and scrutinized her, "Did you come here with Thranduil?"
Celebrial blushed and studied the stones beneath her, "Yes, I did, uh..." She had not thought about having to address the king and queen before and now she regretted not asking Thranduil how to speak to them. She then remembered that Thranduil had addressed Oropher as 'my lord' and opted to go with that, "My lady."
Theliel raised an eyebrow, "Are you addressing the ground or are you addressing me?"
Celebrial's head shot up and she was blushing even more, "I beg your pardon, my lady."
Theliel smiled a bit, "That is better. Where are you from, for I cannot recognize your attire?"
The silver-haired elleth relaxed slightly, "I am not an elf of any specific origin, unless you consider the wilds to be one, my lady."
The queen's facial-expression changed from puzzlement to understanding and pity, "You have not a home, then." It was a statement rather than an enquiry.
Celebrial shook her head, "No, my lady. It was in the fields just beyond Greenwood the Great where Thr...prince Thranduil found me. He had a run in with quite a number of goblins. It is a good thing I got to him in time."
"You saved my son's life?" Theliel was no longer a queen but a mother, whose eyes were filled with gratitude.
Celebrial's blush returned, "I would not say that, my lady. I just treated him with a few herbs and with the little skill I have, done what any other elf would have. He did the rest and was the one who pulled through strongly."
"Still, you have our thanks and we shall hold a ball in your honour and celebrate the return of the crown prince."
Celebrial blanched and backed away ever so slightly, "No, my lady, there is no need to honour me in such an extravagant way; I merely did what any other elf would have done. A 'thank you' is good enough for me."
"Do not be silly, you deserve it and so much more."
"No, really, I was only too glad to be of assistance." Celebrial did not want to be in a large crowd and especially in the spotlight. An idea came to her, "In any case, I have not the clothes or the jewellery for such an event."
"Nonsense, we shall hold the ball and we shall provide you with a gown." The queen of Greenwood could tell that Celebrial was feeling rather uncomfortable but that was not going to stop her from giving her the honour for saving her son's life in more ways than one. She placed a soft hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be alright, you will see." She summoned a nearby servant, "please, take our guest to a prepared guest-room." She turned back to Theliel, "We shall not have the celebrations tonight for Thranduil will not be up to it and you both will be needing rest." She gently pressed a hand to Celebrial's cheek and gave her a small smile, then turned and made her way towards the healing-chambers.
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Celebrial was left standing alone with the servant, while her eyes took in all the sights. She saw an arch that she guessed led into the royal-gardens, vines and roses grew over it. The architecture of the entire capital was built in such a way that it did not interfere with growing things and every now and the Celebrial would spot a squirrel scurrying past. Every structure was white: the statues, the large fountain in the centre of the courtyard, intertwining pillars that also had vines growing around them upwards.
"My lady, it is best we get going."
Celebrial was pulled out of her trance, "My apologies. Never before had I seen such architecture." She continued to follow closely behind the servant.
The marble-gate opened up on its own and allowed the two to pass through into the palace. The palace, itself, was airy. Gaps were left in the roof, that was designed in the same way as the pillars, to allow sunlight to shine through and many glassless windows were scattered all around. Beautiful carpets were spread across the white floors. Even birds flew in and passed right through. Celebrial was not sure if she was inside or still outside.
The servant led her through the winding passages and Celebrial was grateful that she had a guide or she would have easily gotten lost.
Eventually, they got to a large wooden-door with intricate patterns of trees and vines carved into it. The servant produced a key from one of her large pockets and unlocked the door. She opened it and allowed Celebrial to enter first.
The silver-haired elf gasped and her stare wide-eyed. The room was enormous; a double-bed was situated on the other side, covered in white, silken sheets. There was a single mat near the edge of the bed. A merry fire was burning in a large fire-place in front of a cushioned armchair. It was not quite as airy as the parts of the palace she had seen; the roof was designed the same way except that crystal-clear glass covered it. She stepped through an opening that was covered in only light curtains, and onto a porch. She tried out a porch-couch that was there and found it very comfortable.
The servant stood off to the one side while watching the elleth, "I hope you find everything to your liking."
Celebrial looked up at the servant from her seat, "Do I!?" She exclaimed, "This whole place is perfect."
"Is there anything else you require then, my lady?"
Celebrial could not believe her ears, "Why do you keep calling me 'my lady'?"
The servant was clearly astounded by the question, "My lady, you are of higher standing than myself and are due the respect to be addressed thusly by myself and any other servants here."
"But I am not higher than you, I do not even deserve to step into a place as exquisite as this."
"I am sorry if I displease you by calling you 'my lady' but I am under strict orders to respect any guest of the royal family and the crown prince will be most upset with me if I did not treat his guest as is required."
Celebrial could not get her head around being showed such respect by anyone, even a servant. But she would not try to persuade her otherwise, for she did not wish the servant to get into any trouble on her account, "Very well, call me what you wish. My only request is sleep and if any news of Thr...the prince comes, please let me know." She also could not get her head around calling her new love a prince.
"As you wish, my lady," She curtseyed and left, leaving two keys behind for Celebrial's convenience, one for the bedroom door and the other for the bathroom.
The silver ellyth took another look around and peeked into the bathroom. The floor was made from wooden-planks. Her eyes widened at the large, silver bath-tub, the feet were shaped like a lion's paws and she could easily see her reflection in the silver. She saw that it was already filled with hot water, so she stripped off her filthly clothes and sunk into the water with a sigh. Now, to her, this was luxury. The warmest water she had to bath in could not have been more than 10˚C. Once she settled against the side of the tub, her thoughts began to swirl with the rising steam.
She wondered how Thranduil was and if he would be alright. She wished so dearly to go and see him, but it would be impossible, for she would easily get lost on the way there and he was the prince, after all, who was she to go and see how his was doing, especially if the king and queen were, most likely, there? Her thoughts then turned to Thranduil's mother – they were both so alike in appearance and nature that they could almost be considered twins except for the fact that Theliel had more depth in her eyes that belayed her years and wisdom. Thranduil's eyes were also filled with wisdom but they also filled with youth and innocence. Oropher was an entirely different character, but Thranduil did inherit his high cheek-bones and strong jaw.
While her thoughts were swirling, Celebrial felt herself drift away and chose to climb out before she did. She wrapped herself in the thickest, largest and softest of towels and climbed onto the ever so soft bed. The combination of the hot bath, the warm towel, her long travels and the softness of the bed caused her to drift away, immediately.
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Oropher was pacing like a caged tiger inside one of the healing-wards. After hearing what Miluion had said, he became unsettled.
Flashback
Miluion stepped out of the room and looked to the couple before him, "Just as I expected, he has a fairly large break and will be limping for a long time, I have had to re-set the bone. Lacerations cover his entire body which leads me to believe that he was beaten and by the looks of things, by humans – Even the harshest of elves would not use such heavy and cruel devices. The bruising gets me to the same conclusion; he was beaten a numerous times by edain. There is a mark around his neck, from a chain-collar and his wrists and ankles were shackled and by the looks of things he pulled on them in order to escape." He stopped when he noticed his king's jaw tighten, a vain throbbing on the side of his neck and his fists clenching. Theliel was saddened by what she heard and her eyes betrayed her emotions, "There is more. There are two wounds that were previously stitched but have torn open and the wounds tore even more, making it more serious so I have had to re-stitch them. I have wrapped his ribs, keeping them steady, it is a good thing that one of them did not puncture a lung or he would have been is serious trouble. His left shoulder had been dislocated, but I reset it. There are more numerous wounds that I had to stitch and the bruises will begin to fade soon enough. I am sorry about his hair, though, but take comfort in the fact that it will grow back and there are more serious things to be concerned about but not too much."
Oropher stepped towards the door, "We are going in."
"You may do so but be silent for he must get his rest and not be disturbed and stay only for a short while.
The royals stepped inside and Theliel immediately went to her son's bed and took one of his hands like she did many times before.
End of flashback
To say the king was not happy was an understatement. He could not believe what Thranduil had done and what had happened to him. Oropher stopped to look at his still son and found his anger boiling over. He picked up a book and threw it against one of the walls.
Theliel got a fright from the loud clash and turned to her husband, "Oropher!!" She chided rather harshly as she went over and picked up the book. Straightening and glaring at her husband she spoke, "This is not the time or the place for one of your temper tantrums." The queen shut the book closed and put it back where it belonged, "If you are going to behave in such away then it is best you leave."
"I have every right to feel this way! My son turns traitorous and he gets beaten by edain, all because he was curious about them!!"
Without a second thought she slapped Oropher hard, "How dare you call our son traitorous after everything he did for you!! I hope you pay for those words!!" She left the room abruptly whilst tears trailed down her delicate cheeks.
Oropher stood stunned for an entire minute before leaving for his study; he did have work to do, after all.
Little did either of them know that Thranduil heard every word and even though his eyes were still closed, silent tears made their way down his cheeks as well.
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TBC
God bless and ride free, citizens.