Okay, so first things first, so sorry for the long delay (again), I have been moving into a new house and getting everything set up has been a bitch and a half. But I am back up and running now in the new place and I have a new chapter for you!
Big thanks to the people who faved/followed/reviewed last chapter:Rosmund Chadwick, Ellena Tyler, Okary White, MissSeras1, Kelwtim2spar, joylinn, RochiiR.C.R. You guys are awesome and the reason I am keeping this up so BIG THANKS! Literally lol.
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Very Bad News And A Very Bad Mood
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"What do you mean I can't go home?" Her voice rose almost a full octave as she shouted up at the wizards. She had tried to leave the bed several times during the conversation, only to be pushed back into it by the strangely silent Thranduil, who seemed to be standing sentinel beside her.
"We mean what we have said. Your mind was being pulled toward two realms at once. If we had not intervened, you would not be here now to be angry." Gandalf drew short puffs from his pipe, clearly just as agitated as Del, though for wildly different reasons.
"So why didn't you just send me home? Who the hell told you to trap me here?" She moved to get up again, growling as Thranduil's large hand settled on her shoulder, applying stubborn pressure until she settled back on the bed.
"As we have said, we could not overcome the power that brought you here. That means we could not create a pathway back to your world for your mind to travel safely. If we had tried, your consciousness would have become caught in an eternal loop of nothingness. This was the only safe way to get you back to yourself. I am truly sorry it could not be done." Radagast patted her leg softly, motioning for his cousin to follow him out as Del screamed insults and threats after them both.
"You should not be angry with them. They saved your life." Thranduil sat gently beside her on the bed, his face a passive mask.
"Easy for you to say, you belong here." She crossed her arms over her chest, wincing as the muscles screamed in protest. Apparently, the spell that brought her here fully had been very hard on her physical body, and she was still healing from it.
"You could belong here too, with time." He tried not to see how petulant she was being, tried not to feel the fondness he'd discovered when she first fell, but it seemed impossible. Now that he knew of these feelings, they would not leave him be. Her every move elicited some small feeling in him.
"I thought you didn't like me? Whatever happened to "cross me again and you'll spend your life in the dungeons"?" She looked over at him, feeling like something between them had changed.
"I have no memory of saying that, though I am sure I was justified in the threat at the time. As to my opinion of you, let us say that it has changed, and leave it at that." He smiled, standing from the bed and motioning for a healer to come take his place. It was a routine that they had fallen into rather swiftly. There must always been someone present with her, while she was asleep and awake, in case the person or creature that made the attempt on her life, tried again.
She lapsed into silence, watching the healer take her place in the chair by the bed. She had fought the idea at first, saying that she didn't need a baby sitter every time she took a nap, but as the days progressed, she began to grow used to the presence at her side. The healers had taken to singing softly as they watched her, their hands kept busy by winding herbs for drying or rolling cloth into bandages. It was the most beautiful thing Del had ever heard. The books had always described the elves singing as other worldly, too perfect to be of this earth, but she'd never been able to comprehend that until now.
Even the nightmares, still stubbornly clinging to her subconscious despite her no longer being in any danger, were no match for the melodies. She would wake from a horrible vision, only to be soothed by the sweet soprano of whichever healer was beside her, and any dream she had after was peaceful and full of nature and sunlight.
Occasionally, and she would never admit it, she would hear a much deeper voice, singing a different tune to the songs the healers seemed to favor. She knew who it was that was singing, his voice was too distinct to be mistaken for anyone else. It was startling the first night, to wake from a nightmare and hear a deep rolling voice instead of the lilting falsetto she'd grown accustomed to. But as she lay there, eyes still wide from the monsters in her mind, a large hand settled over her arm and she found herself falling back into slumber before she could question it.
The days wore on slowly, far too slowly for someone like Del, who preferred to be either moving or reading whenever possible. The healers had been wonderful, trying to teach her some of what they did in order to keep her mind busy, but between the language barrier and the menial nature of the tasks, she only became more frustrated.
The only breaks from the monotony came in the form of language lessons with Tauriel. Thranduil had apparently passed down orders that she be taught their language, perhaps his way of making her feel like she could belong here someday. The order had been passed from person to person, most of which were male, until it landed in Tauriel's lap. She had been the only one to agree to it, not being able to site gender as a reason to refuse, and had taken up the task with the same vigor she showed in all other aspects of her life.
It had been confusing at first, the language was just as complex to learn as it was to write, and Del had seriously considered giving up on more than one occasion. Foreign languages had never been her strongest subject, and it would appear that time had not changed that fact at all. But between Tauriel's skillful teaching and her own perseverance, she was beginning to get a grasp on the basics. It was during one such surprise that she received a rather unpleasant surprise.
Tauriel had been running through basic pronunciations with her, correcting every other sound she made, or so it seemed, when the doors all but burst off their hinges. Thranduil stood in the doorway, his face a stony mask, with the exception of his eyes. Del had never seen such anger in one person before. She felt her stomach drop as something occurred to her. They'd gone nearly a month without his less than charitable persona showing itself, and while the world itself had switched almost entirely over to the "movie" version of itself, Thranduil, and the other elves Del had contact with, seemed to have found a happy medium between the two. However, as she met his eyes, she knew that the peace was over.
"Everyone leave, now." His voice was deathly quiet, barely reaching her range of hearing. The elves, however, understood him and jumped to action as if he'd shouted. The gathered whatever they'd been working on and stowed it somewhere it wouldn't be grabbed or tossed and hurried from the room, all stopping to bow. Tauriel was the last to leave, her face worried and upset as she looked back at the helpless human she'd come to know. There was a warning in her gaze that Del understood, but could not acknowledge, so she settled for silence, resting her arms at her sides and dropping her gaze to one of the many flower vases around the room.
His footsteps were audible as he moved, something he did for show no doubt as she knew he could be silent when he wished to be. Each step sent another wave of anxious chills over her skin, her stomach twisting up into a knot as her mind raced through the possible scenarios she might be put into. The room suddenly felt much smaller, as if each foot fall was eating up another inch worth of space from the room over all. She knew that whatever was about to happen to her was not going to be enjoyable, but she hoped that it wouldn't be debilitating or lethal. She'd come through too much to die in a bed like an invalid.
"You have done a good job of distracting me. Your little brush with death was masterful. Tell me, did the wizard coach you?" He spaced at the side of the bed, his hands clasped with white knuckled intensity.
Thranduil's breath was ragged, like he'd just finished a particularly intense fight. She heard the rustle of fabric on stone moving toward her and, despite her efforts, she flinched away from it. She knew it would cause one of two reactions, either he would leave, or it would only anger him further. The hand curling into her hair was her answer as to which she was in for. She managed to prepare herself, tuning out most of the pain as her head was wrenched backward by the scalp, but a small cry of pain managed to squeak its way out of her mouth.
"You will tell me the truth, now. I will not be the pawn of a wizard, or a woman too weak to care for herself. Do you understand?" His eyes burned into her own, warning her of the very real possibility of her death if she did not answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but fear had stolen her ability to speak so she settled for nodding. "Good." He released her hair with a shove, knocking her back to the mattress. She took a moment to collect herself, calm her racing heart and regain strength in her limbs, before she pushed herself up and resumed her position of polite non confrontation.
She was careful not to look directly at him, settling instead for watching him from her peripheral as he shook silently, his body turning toward the chair at her bedside. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, counting back from ten as he sat himself down beside her.
"Were you involved with the wizard Saruman in any manner?" His voice was calm once again, but Del knew better than to trust he'd returned to his senses.
"No. The only wizards I have seen are Gandalf and Radagast during their visits here." She hoped that this answer would be enough to appease him, she didn't think she could take another physical encounter.
"Do you have any knowledge of plots against my people?" His voice had taken on a harder quality and it sent chills down her spine.
"No." Her tone was not as submissive this time, taking on an edge that she knew would only get her into more trouble. He hadn't done any real damage yet, though his entire being was promising it in spades, perhaps he was more in control of himself than he was letting on.
"How did you come to be in this place?" The emotion had left his tone entirely now, leaving nothing but the cold regalness she'd come to associate with his "movie" persona.
"You already know how I got here. I fell asleep in the forest by my house in my world and I woke up here." She tried to keep the irritation from her voice, but she'd never been very good at hiding how she felt.
"That is the only time I will allow you to disrespect me in such a way. You did not answer my question. I did not ask the circumstances of your transport, I asked for the method." He stood, his body going almost abnormally still.
"I don't know how it happened." She took a breath, readying herself for another attack, only to have her blood run cold at the sound of a blade coming free of its sheath.
"I will ask one more time. How did you come to be in my realm human?" The cold steel pressed against her neck, causing her breath to hitch and her skin to jump, nicking against the blade in stinging stutters. She felt tears sting the backs of her eyelids as she slid them shut, preparing for the end. She'd been stupid to think that they were becoming something other than this. The whole situation was volatile and completely untenable, but she couldn't help feeling as if maybe she'd lost a friend somehow. "Answer me."
"I don't know."
Alright, so there you have it, chapter 7. Sorry to end on the cliff like that, but I kinda wanted to build the tension back up leading toward this thing I'm gonna do later. Anyway, enough rambling, review and all that jazz please so that I know you are still there lol and I will see you all in chapter 8!
