Chapter 2 ended with:

The first elf she saw was beautiful indeed. Breathtaking. The most alluring being she had ever seen. And he had been following her during her midnight walk in the gardens.

Chapter 3 - Lies

Her eyes were emerald green, a rare color that was not marred by her frown. Her features were dazzling for a human, but not as refined as the facial features of a true elleth. Yet, her skin was perfect, her lips full and she had a perky nose that gave her a mischievous air. How beautiful she must be when she smiled, which she did not at the moment. It was obvious that she was wary, bracing herself for a possible attack from an unknown stalker.

He did not understand why he was drawn to this elleth. He was not looking for a mate, in fact, he had spent most of his reign without a queen, except for the short two centuries when he had been married to Bereth. Their marriage had been one of convenience, and they had had nothing in common, if not for the elfling that had been born a few years after the wedding. Once the heir to the throne had been born, Thranduil had stopped visiting her bed, Legolas' arrival putting an end to this chore. When she had died, attacked by orcs on her way back from Lake-town, he had felt no pain, if not for the fact that his son would be without a naneth. They may have been mismatched, but Bereth had been a good mother to his son.

Under these circumstances, why did he suddenly want this elleth for himself? What would he gain from this, if not additional worry, inconvenience and annoyance? Why was the idea that she could be happy with another ellon so distasteful, so unacceptable to him? Just the thought of her kissing Glorfindel made him sick. The Balrog Slayer deserved her far more than he would ever do. Haldir? He was another ellon who would probably appreciate having a mate, and again, far more deserving than he was. And Legolas? He had a flash of his son making love to the elleth, their blonde and red hair blending on the pillow while his son moved rhythmically above her. His fists closed, ready to attack his own heir. What was happening to him?

"I apologize if I scared you," he whispered to the elleth, keeping his voice low and softening his gaze as much as he could. After all, he had no idea if she was a fearful female or not. It would not help if he frightened her at their first encounter. He was aware he was the most difficult male of Middle Earth, all races combined.

"You should not be here," she said with an accent he had to admit was charming. "I am not supposed to meet anyone before a few days. This is the garden that is reserved for me for the duration of the council."

"I am sorry, I must have gotten lost. I was not aware of any restrictions. The gardens are so beautiful here, in Isengard." He thought he did a pretty good job at looking innocent.

"They are," she agreed. "There are no trees such as those where I come from."

"Are you… Are you that elleth that everyone is talking about?" He truly should consider a career change and become an actor. He would be exceptional in roles of virtuous youngsters, if her reaction to his words could be trusted. She now had her guard down and was genuinely smiling to him.

"Yes, I am. My name is Valerie. But why am I certain that you already knew that?"

She had asked her question quite impertinently, but in a manner he thought was endearing. He allowed his gaze to reflect a bit of his usual intelligence and sarcasm. Just a bit. "I always appreciated cleverness. It makes conversations much more interesting."

"Ours would be if you introduced yourself properly."

"I am not one of the ellyn that have been… selected for you."

He thought he saw a quick flash of disappointment in her eyes, but it was gone too quickly for him to analyze it further.

"And who are you then?"

"I am an elf from Greenwood." He thanked the gods that he was not wearing his crown or his circlet. He was quite certain that the wizards had taught her the meaning of those.

"That is not what I asked. What is your name?" she insisted.

He could easily see that she wondered why he was not open with her. He certainly was not going to identify himself as the Elvenking immediately. He wanted to know the kind of elleth she was before. Wanted to see if she was worthy of him. The fact that she was only a half-elf did not play in her favor. However, each time he locked his eyes with hers, a voice in his fëa was screaming mine relentlessly.

He said the first name that came to mind, one that didn't belong to an elf of his party.

"Oropher." As soon as the word was out, he could have kicked himself. Why did he use the name of his adar?

"Like the former king of Greenwood?" she asked with curiosity. "The one who died during the battle of Dagorlad?"

The wizards had taken care of her education, that was for sure. "Yes. My parents named me in his memory." He was angry with himself, and he hoped she would drop the subject now that her curiosity was satisfied.

"I see," she simply replied. "Well, Oropher, it was a pleasure to meet you. I am afraid I must leave before Saruman hears that I have lingered outside when people were still walking on the grounds."

"Or we could walk together a little more. Is the wizard that scary? I am not familiar with him. I am not important enough to have ever spoken to him." Another lie. They were accumulating at an alarming rate.

"Is he scary?" she repeated. "I guess not. He loves his status and likes when people follow his commands, but he is easy to deceive, at least when he assumes that you are a feeble female. There, you know it now. The perfect method to manipulate self-important males. Flattery and fake obedience. Will you tell him this secret, one of the oldest ones shared by females of every race and time?" she grinned.

He offered her his arm to continue walking. She hesitated briefly before intertwining her arm with his. He was taller than her by a head, and from that higher point, he could smell the intoxicating scent of her hair. "I admit I have observed this behavior in the past, when ladies use it with the king of Greenwood. He sees through them, he is not as easily deceived as the other self-important males, as you call them."

She laughed. "I am sure he can be deceived just like anyone else. I may try some day, if I meet him."

She was more than welcome to try. How he would love to play this game with her!

I want to thank the following readers for taking the time to send me a review: Leia-San, Maggie, Phox (chapters are shorter, but there may be more of them at the end!), AHealingRenaissance, Aralinn, glassary and princessnera (Thranduil acting like an innocent youngster, did you like that?).

And for the questions:

Maggie – I haven't quite decided yet if Allison will make an appearance. Is it an original character that you like? I know some readers really liked her pairing with Glorfindel.

AHealingRenaissance – you are right, Saruman didn't bring Valerie to Middle Earth out of generosity… He has a plan, which Thranduil will completely destroy in the next chapters...

Glassary – you are quite right, even the Valar's plan is in jeopardy!