It was a nice wedding, especially considering Caranhil and his new wife Nimariel were both Silvan elves. (After all, Silvan elves tended not to be as wealthy as Sindar elves which part of the reason for the former's discontent in Mirkwood.) However, during the entire ceremony, Thranduil kept staring at Rinien to the point where it would have been impossible for her not to notice his blue eyes boring into her. In truth, he was disappointed to see her in yet another plain dress and her wild, voluminous hair contained by a neat bun but there was one difference in the way Thranduil saw her now. Now he saw the spark of life in her brown eyes that he'd missed the few times they met before their most recent encounter with one another. Though a few months passed without another word to each other, neither Thranduil nor Rinien forgot the events of that night.
After the ceremony, the elves who attended – many of whom were important due to the political voice that Carandan held – began milling about, drinking their strong wine. Thranduil was especially pleased to be drinking the wine – a higher tolerance for it than just about any other elf in the room. After he drank a few glasses, we went over to Rinien and slipped her a small note.
It read: We meet at the same place and time. Bring your sword and knives.
She nearly gasped in surprise when she read it: she hadn't expected the prince to keep his promise. He was apparently full of surprises and challenged her entire perception of him. Most the kingdom saw Thranduil as lazy and hoped they would never see Oropher's son take the throne but Rinien was beginning to believe their opinions were entirely wrong.
"What is it, Rinien?" Runathiel, her friend, asked.
"Nothing," Rinien said quickly, tucking the note up her sleeve.
"Liar," Ninith accused. Ninith, the friend who taught Rinien archery, was nothing if not blunt. "But keep your secrets if you must. After all, we're only your two closest friends on Middle Earth." Ninith also wasn't afraid to use guilt to get what she wanted, but it wouldn't work this time.
"It's alright," Runathiel assured her. "We weren't coming over to pry," she said, shooting Ninith a warning look to drop the subject. "We came over to congratulate you. Caranhil appears very happy with Nimariel."
"No one on Middle Earth could make him happier," Rinien said with a happy sigh. "I only wish it didn't take place during such dark times." The other two nodded, though none of them wanted to discuss the war to the south.
"What did the prince want?" Runathiel asked. "We saw him pass you." It was an innocent, not accusing, question. Neither of Rinien's friends would have guessed that Rinien had encountered Thranduil in the woods; most in the kingdom would not believe the skill Thranduil had with a sword nor would they believe the prince had any troubles that would force him into the forest as an escape. Rinien had to constantly check her own doubts regarding the prince and she was even there when he single-handedly took down a nest of spiders without having to hide in the trees like she did.
"He simply wanted to congratulate me on Caranhil's marriage. We've dined with him on a few occasions so I suppose he felt obligated to attend the wedding with his father; not only that, but Oropher probably wants to stay on my father's good side."
"I would, too, if the majority of my kingdom felt underrepresented," Ninith grumbled.
"You're not being entirely fair," Rinien chastised. "I share your feelings about Silvan elves being underrepresented but the king has a lot to concentrate on right now – the largest being protecting the kingdom. I believe protecting our borders is in the interest of every elf in Greenwood, wouldn't you agree, Ninith?"
"I'll give Oropher the benefit of the doubt for now but mark my words: I expect change when this war is over."
"Ninith, you're not…?" Runathiel raised her eyebrows, her implications clear. There were a few, small rebel factions among the Silvan elves that were not willing to wait until after the war to see the change they wanted.
Ninith huffed irritably at the accusations, though they were not too far from the truth. "Not officially, no, but I know a few elves," she drawled – cavalier.
The fact that her hot-headed friend was in contact with rebel groups was not entirely surprising to Rinien but that didn't make the fact any less scandalous. "You're a member of the guard," she reminded Ninith. "You should tread carefully."
Ninith played with the braids that framed her face in an attempt to act casual but it was clear to her friends she was well aware of the precarious position she had put herself in. Rinien sincerely hoped Oropher would come through after the war; otherwise, their king was in for a rude awakening when he returned.
That evening, Rinien met Thranduil where they met two months ago before he grumbled under his breath, "I can't think of a good place to practice – unless you want to take your chances with the spiders."
"I know a place to practice," she assured him. "It's well away from the spiders and orcs will avoid it if they can."
When they finally reached their destination, Thranduil could hardly believe his eyes. He had long given up hope that any part of the forest escaped the darkness that consumed the once-Greenwood but here, right in front of him, was a clearing bathed in the light of the setting sun which the dark creatures now inhabiting the forest would not dare enter. "How did you find this?" he asked, barely a whisper. Though Thranduil would never openly admit it – he didn't like to show emotions in front of others – he missed the Greenwood of his memory – the Greenwood that had once been the pride of the north.
"I stumbled upon it about twenty years ago when there were still a handful of places in the forest like this. Now, it's the only one left of the clearings I used in the woods almost daily."
Neither of them wasted any more time before he began to show her the proper technique with a sword and knives. She may not have had the natural aptitude with them that she displayed with the bow but she was a fast learner and an eager student. After only a few hours her form had improved immensely, though she was still nowhere near good enough for any real sparring match – least of all with Thranduil.
"I can't thank you enough for this," she told him afterwards. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I understand the need to release anger in a constructive way. I'm not usually interested in running amuck in the woods but I will if I can kill spiders and orcs while venting my anger."
"I love the woods," she said, as if the woods needed to be defended.
"How? They're diseased, now – taken over by this darkness consuming all of Middle Earth." Thranduil still felt a love for his home, but that didn't mean he wanted to run around in what was now called Mirkwood only to see the decay that had invaded.
"Everything heals with time. Besides, this is our home so we should not forsake it so easily. When Sauron is defeated, all will return to as it was before the darkness fell upon the forest." Thranduil was surprised when Rinien mentioned Sauron's name. Most in the Woodland Realm wanted to think as little as possible of the events in the south and would have preferred to entirely forget that a war was going on just outside their borders.
"I'm not so sure he can be defeated. Even now, it is almost as if I can feel his presence in the ground…the very air we breathe. I fear the ruin he may bring here and I fear my father does not see this ruin coming. He most certainly is not taking the matter as seriously as he should; our army is nowhere near close to being ready for a war against Mordor's forces." The people of the Woodland Realm would have been surprised to see their prince so serious and concerned for the welfare of his kingdom. Rinien herself now felt guilty for judging the prince so harshly without knowing what truly occurred behind those icy-cold, blue eyes.
"You aren't given enough credit," she told him.
"How do you mean?"
"Many do not believe you would make a good king but they're wrong. Should the worst happen and your father died, you could be a good king." Her open nature and honesty surprised him.
Thranduil was already aware that his people doubted him. It bothered him not so long as they never had to depend on their prince. "I don't want to be king: I haven't the temperament for it and I cannot stand politics. Quelling the discontent of the Silvan elves…meeting dignitaries from different races… I'd much rather stay at home and read. I'd even rather run amuck in the woods."
Rinien pulled an almost disappointed look but didn't argue with him. "I'm surprised we've only ever happened on each other once while we've been out in the woods," she mused, changing the subject.
"I'm not: I only enter the forest on very rare occasion. Tonight I only ventured out to keep my promise."
"That's a shame. I come out as often as I can." Thranduil believed it, too. When she was out in the woods, her appearance screamed 'wild woman' and would make any who encountered her believe she lived in the woods. Every inch of her crackled with life.
Now, as her eyes sparkled with enchantment under the starlight, Thranduil had to make sure he did not disappoint. "Would you care to meet again tomorrow night?" he asked. "I see no reason to wait for more lessons."
"I would enjoy that very much."
A fortnight passed and Rinien's lessons continued near every night of that time period. Unfortunately, her high spirits were noticed by others. Caranhil caught on to the changes in his sister almost right away, but Rinien was grateful that, when she asked for privacy, he wouldn't pry. The same could not be said for her friends.
"You've found someone," Ninith accused.
"You're mistaken."
"You are almost always in a good mood and nearly every time I see you you're flushed with what I can only guess is fondness. Now, tell me, who is the lucky elf?"
"Ninith, the reason I'm so happy is because I've been very successful on the nights I go outside the gates. Not all of us are a lucky as you to be part of the guard so I'm delighted whenever I get the chance to rid our lands of foul creatures." Rinien even gave a roll of her eyes for good measure, hoping desperately that she could convince them as she began to break into a sweat.
She almost convinced Ninith who sighed in frustration. "This has something to do with that business at the wedding, doesn't it? I know you're keeping something from us."
"You know that we would never betray your trust," Runathiel offered.
"I know you wouldn't, Runa, but there really is nothing to tell except that I am refreshed from frequent physical exertion. Please believe me."
Both gave suspicious looks. "It would be so wonderful for you to be in love, Rinien," Runathiel gushed.
"But I am not. You seem awfully fixated with the idea of love yourself, though." Rinien hoped she could rid herself of her friends' attention for the rest of the day and it appeared as if Runathiel was the perfect opportunity for this: Rinien hoped she would get lucky. Runathiel's entire head turned a bright red like her hair which immediately gave her away. "It would appear that I am not the one hiding something."
"Confess," Ninith ordered Runathiel.
"But you know him," the shy elf quivered. "You will taunt me forever, Ninith." The hard stare from the afore-mentioned elleth told Runathiel she would not escape from Ninith's interrogation. "It's Sarnor but we have only met on a few occasions," she said defensively. "I doubt I've caught his notice."
"Sarnor?" Ninith asked with disbelief. "Are you speaking of the same Sarnor who is captain of the guard? My superior?" Runathiel bobbed her head up and down – embarrassed. "I suppose it could be worse," Ninith allowed. "Sarnor is decent." She appeared to only admit this grudgingly, though.
"I'm sure Ninith could arrange for you and Sarnor to 'happen upon' each other at the next event we all attend. It would be a shame for you to go unnoticed." Rinien was quite pleased with herself but she couldn't escape the interrogation of Ninith, either.
"Do not think I've forgotten about you, Rinien. If you believe I will let you go on without telling me something then our friendship has taught you nothing and you clearly do not know me."
Rinien sighed. "I suppose it was foolish to hope, wasn't it? Therefore, I will tell you the entirety of what has happened in the past few weeks: I have made an unlikely friend. There truly is nothing more to it than that." She was beginning to wonder if she was telling this to her friends, or to herself.
Of late, she had been daydreaming of silvery blonde hair and icy, blue eyes but Thranduil was cold and distant so she thought it best to try forgetting the matter altogether. Thankfully, at least, her friends appeared to believe her story for the time being and pried no further.