Hi my sweet sweet readers! First of all I'd like to thank all who supported my writing through your follows, favorites, and reviews, thank you SparklesJustReads and mysterious Guest! You give me more and more reason to keep writing this story so please keep reviewing, it feeds my soul, and you don't want my soul to starve, do you? XD

Now, this chapter I decided to introduce Thranduil's POVs. It took me a long time to decide whether or not this would work, but in the end I want you to have the whole vision of this story, so I did it. Nevertheless, I'm not entering the king's mind because I think no one can actually do this, but you'll have a better idea of his thoughts and his feelings. I really hope you like it.

Also, I brought some trouble from Hazel's past so you'll get to know her a little bit better.

Now lets go back to our sheep (or story XD)

I hope you like it.

Chapter VI

Chin Up

The king walked back to his rooms to get ready for dinner in high spirits. When Elrond said the girl was a passionate scholar, he didn't imagine she was such an avid learner. At least for once Elrond had done something right, sending the young widow to live at Mirkwood. She had done a good job healing the injured ranger's arm, which he had undone by sending him off to fight too soon. He shook his head at his own folly.

At least he made it up to her by granting her access to the Royal Library. It was adorable the way her face lit up when she saw the room, and he wanted to ensure she'd make good use of the treasure he presented her by being her mentor. He liked the idea of sharing his knowledge with the young ones, God knows he tried to get Legolas to study but the boy couldn't hold a book for more than an hour before sleeping. He grimaced at the thought. This wasn't the right way to raise a future king, there was much more that Legolas would have to learn besides from fighting and flirting with every pretty pair of eyes he could find.

At least someone was interested in learning. Maybe he could even use her as a bait to lure Legolas into the library, she was a pretty thing after all.

He sighed. This was wrong in at least a dozen different levels. The girl had been widowed recently, she must still be mourning her fallen soldier. Studying and working would do her good, giving her something else to think. Being paraded for the young prince would do no good at all.

The king reached for the letter on his desk. He could see Lord Elrond favored this young elleth in particular, having raised her together with his own daughter and taking special interest in her education. Thranduil could see that she was specially well-mannered and it was a welcome relief from the silvan elves' lack of manners, his captain Tauriel among them. He could only pray they would find Lady Hazel fashionable and learn her gentile ways.

I rushed into the elleths' presence chamber to change my clothes before dinner.

"Where were you?" Demanded Zynia, and I knew she was upset that I had left the healing wing during work.

"I'm sorry, His Majesty requested my presence." I explained.

At once her eyes widened.

"Was he hurt?"

"No." I soothed her "He just wanted to talk." I decided that it was better to not tell the whole truth, since I didn't knew if it was common to be invited to the Royal Library by the king himself and have him offering help in researches. It didn't seem so.

"Well, your star is rising quickly." She said, plainly, but I didn't like her tone.

I went in my bedroom and changed into a simple dark blue dress. I was getting too much attention, and for the first time since I got to Mirkwood it didn't sound like a good thing.

A gentle knock on the door took me back to reality.

"Come in."

Melim entered my bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Don't be upset with Zynia. She has a soft spot for Legolas and she fears if you get to close to the royal family he might fall for you. She knows he was at the healing rooms earlier and, well, he is a flirt."

I raised my eyebrows at that. Legolas was certainly nice, but it didn't seem like he had any intentions, and besides...

"I just lost my husband, Melim. Zynia has nothing to worry about, the prince behaved very well and I don't believe for a second that he has any feelings for me, since he knows of my state. Plus, I'm not closer to the royal family than you are."

Melim sighed and sat on the other bed.

"I know, I said it to her myself, but you know how this things are."

And by 'You know how this things are' I take that Zynia cannot trust her own shadow around prince Legolas, who has likely never said more than 'Good morning' to her.

"I know. I'm not mad at her. I hope she can say the same of me."

Melim smiled.

"She'll come around it. Come, let's go to dinner."

I have to eat well.

"Please, keep Zynia from stabbing me with the table knife."

Dawn woke me up and I tried to situate myself in time and space.

This is my bedroom in the Woodland Castle.

I have a day off today. I can spend the whole day in the Royal Library.

I shifted in bed, happy with the thought. King Thranduil has been helping me with my Quenya and spiders research for nearly a month now and he is an excellent teacher. I sat in bed and felt something hot between my thighs.

Blood.

No no no no no no no no.

I crawled away from the red spot and held my knees against my face, tears springing from my eyes.

There was no baby. There was never a baby.

I'm alone.

Thranduil was surprised not to find his new student in the library on her day off. It was already quite late in the morning, so it wasn't likely for her to be sleeping. Something felt wrong. Was she ill?

He headed to the healing wing, entering a random room to find Lady Zynia organizing glasses on the shelves.

"Good morning, Lady Zynia."

She bowed.

"Good morning, my lord."

"Have you seen Lady Hazel today?"

He saw a flick of something in the healer's green eyes.

"No, my lord. It's her day off, I believe she's still sleeping."

Thranduil nodded.

"Thank you, Lady Zynia."

He went upstairs to the ladies rooms', it was the middle of the morning, so there would be no problem if he went inside to check. He had a bad feeling about Lady Hazel. The presence chamber was empty but there was a small crying sound coming from behind one of the doors. He hesitated for a second before knocking lightly.

"Lady Hazel?" He asked, but there was no answer. Instead, the crying persisted. "May I come in?"

Once again, no answer but the heart-breaking cry inside.

He opened the door tentatively. Hazel was curled up on the top of the bed, her face wet with tears. There was a small dark spot on the bed linen but she stretched a leg and covered it, blushing scarlet.

He ran to the chair beside the bed.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, tears still pouring from her eyes.

He got it at once. She was widowed not so long ago, so she probably had high hopes. Now they were crushed. He felt terrible for her. When his queen was killed he still had Legolas, his son was a reason to keep living, she didn't have the same luck. Poor child.

"I'll ask Lady Melim to bring you something to eat." He said, tucking a lock of pale brown hair behind her ear. "Here." He produced a white handkerchief from one of his many pockets and wiped her tears. "Don't cry, child. Things will get better." He said soothingly, placing the handkerchief in her hands. "I'll call Lady Melim, ok? You don't have to go to the library today, but if you want to, I'll be there the whole afternoon."

"Thank you, Majesty. Your Majesty is very kind to me." She said, her voice raw from crying.

"I like you, Hazel. Stay well. I'll send Lady Melim here." He answered with a smile, before walking out the door.

I held the king's handkerchief in my hands. It was a simple white square, but the fabric was exquisite, so soft and somehow beautiful in it's simplicity.

The king was proving to be much more than I expected. At first he seemed cold and distant, but now I could see he was caring and gentle under the mask of regal coldness.

'He's a good man, you know'

It seemed like the prince was right. I was lucky to find myself once more under protection of a grand elven lord. An elven king, no less.

'I like you, Hazel.'

Without knocking on the door, Melim just flied into the room, startling me. She had a tray of food and her face was worried.

"The king said you were feeling unwell. Poor thing, look at you. You look like dying."

Thank you, Melim.

"I've been worse."

She placed the tray on the table between the two beds.

"You've surely been better. Now eat." She commanded

I got up and she saw the red stain on the male shirt I wore to sleep. One of Dûrion's shirts. Melim opened the wardrobe and handed me my silken robe.

"Give me the shirt, I'll make sure it's washed before it stains."

I felt my eyes wet with her friendship and caring as I slid out of Dûrion's shirt and wrapped myself in the robe she handed me.

"Thank you, Melim. You're the sweetest creature that ever lived."

She smiled at me, taking the shirt.

"I like you, Hazel."

And with that she left me alone with my breakfast. I picked at it and got dressed. I didn't need food. It was time to pay my old friend a visit.

I sneaked into the cellar and grabbed an aleatory bottle of wine, sneaking out again, to the outer gardens. There was a particularly desert garden nearly the size of a park with a clear blue stream.

This one will be just perfect.

I sat on a fallen trunk by the river and opened the bottle, stopping for a moment to smell the rich red liquid. The smell was sweet and suggested a strongly alcoholic wine. Good. Not like I had a baby to care about. The sour thought and the pain in my belly made me drink a long gulp of the rich sweet wine.

I was bitterly disappointed not being expecting. I had hoped so much for a little elfling growing inside me. One with glossy hair dark as night and sky-blue eyes. A boy or a girl who would look just like Dûrion and forever remind me of the love we shared. At the thought of the offspring we would never have, tears came to my eyes once more, and there was nothing I could do to stop them from rolling down my face as I drank more of the strong wine.

I felt hollow. I needed someone to love and care. I mourned the children that would never be and missed the feeling of being loved and comforted by the husband who worshiped me.

Taking another drink at my glass of friendly alcohol I felt as if this was a closure to Dûrion's death. If I had a child to look just like him, it would be as if part of him remained with me forever, but I knew now it was all over. He was gone, our love was memory, and I was alone. Just like after my parents' death, I was in a different place, surrounded of people who were strangers to me. I was alone again.

It felt wrong to be so sad. Dûrion would hate to see me like this. He had the sun in his heart and never once I saw him sad about anything for more than a few days. He would like me to be happy, but how he expected me to do so without him?

And I knew exactly what he would say. 'Don't look like this, my love.' I had to honor the light he had, that glow from inside. I had to try. I had to find myself a new flute.

I drank, trying to kill the pain inside my belly and my heart.

The thought of Melim came to my mind. She was ever friendly and gentle, my fellow healer, and I already counted her as a friend. I drank to our friendship.

Feeling better at the thought of Melim's friendship, I stretched a foot into the babbling water, scaring a small group of tiny orange fish and laughing at their despair. It was absurd of them to think I would eat them, they were so tiny.

"To your health, fish!" I said, raising the half-empty bottle and laughing again. Wine was my friend. Wine and tiny orange fish.

Feeling the familiar dizziness of alcohol I laid with my back against the trunk, a foot in the water, and watched the sky. It was blue and cloudless, and it brought the memory of a soldier's eyes. I raised the bottle to my lips to keep the sorrow at bay.

"Hazel?"

I jumped to my feet, choking on the wine and feeling it's effect immediately, as I would have fallen in the river if the prince hadn't caught me in time. Still coughing I managed a bow of my head, since a proper curtsy was clearly way beyond me now.

"Your Grace." Then I remembered he didn't like titles and quickly mended "Legolas."

I cleaned the tears from my face and noticed I still held the bottle, which was now nearly empty.

"What are you doing out there?"

Getting dead drunk.

"I needed fresh air." I said, evasively. I didn't want to lie to him, he was always so nice to me, but I didn't want to tell the whole story as well..

"Melim told me you're distressed, she's worried about you. Is there anything I can do to help you? Want to talk about it?"

It was really nice of him to be so attentive, but I really couldn't discuss the matters of my body with an ellon, let alone the prince himself. Specially after his father found me curled up in my bed and crying at a pool of my own blood. Even to think about it was embarrassing, so I just shook my head.

He didn't insist, but instead took the bottle from my hands and drank the little I had left.

"It's my father's favorite." He smiled at me, as he always did. He reminded me of Dûrion in this. He too had the sun within.

"Please, don't tell the king. He will never give me a day off again."

He laughed heartily at my concerns, and his laughter made things a little bit better. I wasn't completely alone in a strange place, I had friends. I had him and I had Melim, maybe even king Thranduil.

"Don't worry, Hazel. Ada will never know." He got up and offered his hand to help me "Come, I'll take you back to your rooms."

I raised to my feet and put a hand to my forehead as the world span. Legolas put his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

"Are you alright?"

I focused on trying to move normally and failed miserably.

"I'm drunk." I admitted, blushing.

The prince tried, without success, to refrain a laughter.

We took a hidden way, which I memorized in case of future need, to the healers' quarters on the healing wing, and found the presence chamber empty but for Melim, who was reading a book, but leaped the moment she saw us.

"Where were you?" She asked, helping me to a chair

It was Legolas who answered:

"She was by the river, said she needed some air. I leave you now. See you both later."

"Thank you, Legolas." I said, before he turned back to the door and left.

Melim's face was worried, and I could tell she smelled the wine in my breath.

"It won't happen again." I said, apologetically.

"We'll talk about this later." Was her answer "Now go take a hot bath, I'll find you something to dress and a cold tea. You should sleep the rest of the day, we have much to do tomorrow."

"Thank you." I said, before drunkenly leaving to the cold springs. It felt good to have people caring for me, even though I knew I shouldn't be burdening them. Those silvan elves were warm people, and it was easy to like them when they welcomed me to their world.

I voted to myself I would stop being a burden and would actually be useful from now on. As soon as I'm sober again, I'll find myself a flute and resume my experience with the plants.

So, how did you guys like it? Next chapter we'll get some conflict so brace yourselves, I intend to post it this wekend. Please, keep reviewing and tell me how you find the story, your suggestions and doubts. And please inform any barbarian english mistake, I try my best but you know, this things happen.

Keep tuned for more ;)

xoxo