Treacherous Paths 2: Choices
A/N: Heya, I am back with another chapter. In the last chapter, there were the wolves that attacked Oropher's family, these were not the wolves like the ones they kept, because I believe that they wouldn't attack unless provoked, they were more like wargs, corrupted by the enemy. Another quick note, I noticed that two readers put this story under their favourites, which I very much appreciate and cannot thank you enough for that, but please, take the time to review as well, it is not that much time consuming, just something like: Good job or even, this sucks. Please, if you enjoy reading this then please drop a review, it can even be two words like I mentioned above, it is good for an author to know that her work is appreciated :D. That is all for now, hope everyone enjoys this one.
Disclaimer: I am merely using these characters for my enjoyment and not making any money off of this.
Chapter 7
The celebrations continued well into the night and into the early hours of the following morning. Many elves wandered back to their homes on rather unsteady feet.
Thranduil stayed behind to help with the cleaning. His thoughts would not leave the moment he had made his announcement. Perhaps he could have conducted it in a better way, but at least it was off his chest and he could freely show his affections for Celebrial, although, he was not sure about his parents. The prince picked up as much of the decorations he could carry off the ground and dunked them in a nearby bag. He stopped to look around and see if he could spot Celebrial in the crowd that helped with the cleaning up. He saw her bending over and picking an object up; he smiled at her in hopes that she would notice him.
Celebrial did feel his eyes on her. Looking up she returned the smile before bending to pick a piece of tinsel up off the ground.
The prince proceeded to carry on his task, but glanced up every once in a while to look at her and she would glance back at him. The sight of the two starry-eyed couple brought a smile to some of the servants whilst they went about their own cleaning up.
It was well after dawn when the last decoration was taken down from the tree. Because it was still the Winter Solstice, the decorations remained hanging around the throne-room and throughout the rest of the palace.
Theliel stepped through the palace gates and approached her son. She placed a soft hand on his shoulder as he scanned the vicinity for any signs of anything they might have missed, "Ion, I would like to have a word with you in private if you are not too busy, saes."
Thranduil nodded, "Of course." He called to whatever servants remained, "Do a final check around the area, make sure it looks the same as it did four days ago." He watched for nods of affirmatives. He then continued to follow his mother inside.
Celebrial watched the mother and son enter into the shadow of the palace. She had an idea what the conversation might be about but she did not detect any hint of resentment coming from the queen.
Җ
Theliel led the way to the private section of the palace where the royal family slept. She opened the door to her own quarters, which she shared with Oropher. She went over to the large bed and sat down, patting the space next to her.
Thranduil walked slowly over to the bed and sat down softly.
The queen looked into her son's eyes, "That was quite the news you gave us last night. I must admit that I knew that you and Celebrial were close, but just did not know that the two of you were that close."
Thranduil looked briefly down at his hands that were clasped between his knees before looking up again, "I planned the event; it just did not come out the way I would have liked."
"It is not the way you presented it that worries me. Your father is far from happy and I think you know that."
Looking down at his hands again, "Aye, I know it. I knew from the beginning that he would not be happy."
Theliel clasped his chin so that he would look at her, "I know what it is to love someone and I am happy that you finally found someone." Her eyes were filled with sympathy, "but I also know where he is coming from. You knew from the beginning that the two of you are worlds apart. It is hard enough for her to fit in but to become a princess-."
Thranduil held up his hands, "Mother, we barely begun courting, marriage is still far from our minds. You are right, there is much to consider, but I love her nonetheless; I never felt this way about anyone before, I feel it in my heart that she is the one and perhaps I want to have her as my wife, just not right now."
She removed her hand from his chin, "There is the problem right there, your father would never allow the two of you to part. In some ways, I agree with him-."
"What! You-."
"Hear me out before you speak. Celebrial does not know the first thing about poise and grace. She has lived most of her life in the wilds. She has no training in etiquette. Thranduil, you are a prince, your love for her does not change that and you need to marry someone who knows everything about being a princess."
"But I love her, I cannot love another. I wish not to be a prince, but someone who is free to marry whoever his heart desires."
"Life is never that simple. You are who you are, there is no changing that. You have a great responsibility to the people, sometimes being royal means sacrificing for the sake of the realm and its people."
"What has the king ever sacrificed?" He asked bitterly.
"More than you will ever know. He carries a great weight on his shoulders. He was once the opposite of who he is now, think about that."
"He never had to give you up." His voice continued to drip bitterness.
"My son, sacrificing is not only about giving something up, physically. Besides, he lost more in life than what he should never have." The final statement was a near whisper.
"Please, ask anything of me but do not ask me to give her up for I would fail to do so."
"I am growing fond of Celebrial and would have approved of your relationship but you must think of what is best for the people."
"You ask too much of me."
"I know you, Thranduil, I know that you are not a selfish elf, I have seen you working with citizens, you treat them as your equal not as inferiors."
"That is how I see them."
"I know it is, and you have every right to; they have welcomed us into their forest and allowed Oropher to lead them. They have served us faithfully and we are to return the favour."
"By sacrificing."
"By sacrificing." Agreed Theliel, "We are the ones that are to serve them, do everything that will benefit them."
"I cannot, not this – I will not." He stood up stomped out the door leaving a sighing Theliel behind.
"You still have much to learn, penneth." She murmured to herself.
Җ
Thranduil jogged towards the trees and climbed one of them. Even though it was dormant, he could still gather what comfort he could from the roughness of the bark and branches. It was normally because of his father that he sought comfort from the trees, hardly ever because of his mother and that troubled him because she was well-known for her wisdom, 'Everyone is wrong once in a while, perhaps this is the one time where she is mistaken.' He shook his head as another thought followed, 'Do I really believe that? Greenwood is more important and so are her benefits.' His head sunk to his knees.
"Thranduil!"
His head jerked up and his pointed ears twitched.
"Thranduil, where are you?!"
He looked down from the tree to see Celebrial calling for him with her hands cupped around her mouth. He groaned, he could not face her, not right then.
"Thranduil!!"
He sighed and revealed himself, he did not want her to hurt her throat by yelling too much, "I am here."
With a grin she looked up through the branches and spotted him. She climbed up and joined him on a branch that was just below his. Her face fell when she saw the turmoil in his eyes; trying to lift his spirits, she spoke, "Surely the talk with the queen was not that bad."
He did not say anything but his eyes grew darker.
"That bad?"
"Worse! Oh, Celebrial, you know that I love you so very much and I know that in my heart that we were meant to be."
"What exactly did she say?"
"You do not wish to know."
"Try me."
He sighed and looked down, he could not look into her eyes, "She says that I have a responsibility to the people of this forest. She said that sacrifices were to be made by the royals."
"Meaning that she does not want us to be together," The situation was plain to her.
"I wish...I wish." He swallowed a lump and shook his head, unable to continue.
"Your mother is right, you owe it to the people to marry someone who knows something about helping to rule a kingdom." She gently placed a hand on his cheek and guided his face to hers, "I am not her even though I so badly wish I was. I would have you be with someone of noble birth."
"No, Celebrial, I will not have you try to convince me otherwise as well."
"Thranduil, think of the people, what good would I be? I know nothing about being royal, I can barely keep my hair tidy. I keep tripping over dresses, there is no way I could wear a stuffy gown without embarrassing myself. Need I go on?"
"We can work on those."
I would not know the first thing about making the right decisions and signing petitions. I am not brave enough to stand in front of a crowd; I could not live with the fact that I will be under scrutiny the entire time. I would not even be able to wear a façade."
"Why do you make this all about you, do you not wish to be with me any longer!?"
Celebrial's eyes grew hard, "Of course I do, but this is not about you or me or what we want." Her eyes showed signs of tears forming.
Thranduil shook his head brusquely, "No!! I will not let you go, no matter what! We will work through this. I will teach you all you need to know and my mother will help, I just have to convince her, somehow." He stared into her eyes with determination, "I will not allow anything to keep us apart." His face softened, "Otherwise, I would surely fade."
Tears were now falling from her violet eyes, "You do not know what you are saying."
"I know exactly what I am saying."
"Now you are the one that is making it all about you!! I love you, but you need to do what is best."
Thranduil leapt out the tree, jarring his leg causing him to lean against the bark for support while grimacing, "I do not need this!!"
Celebrial jumped after him with a frown, "Since when have you been so selfish!!"
He was about to retort when a messenger ran towards him and bowed, "Highness, both you and your guest has been summoned by the king, you will find him and the queen in the throne-room."
Thranduil nodded and limped rather quickly towards the building, ignoring Celebrial all the way.
His ignorance did not go unnoticed by Celebrial but there was nothing that she could have done or said, she only followed him silently.
Җ
After the enormous doors were opened by the guards, the couple walked through them and carried on down the aisle until they were standing before the king and queen. Thranduil bowed to his knee without looking up.
Oropher looked down at the pair, he was looking rather pale and slightly dishevelled, "You may rise." His voice could have cut through diamonds.
The two did as they were told, Celebrial, though, was still unable to meet either of their eyes. Thranduil was a different story, "You summoned us, my lord."
"Yes, I wanted you to meet your intended, Vanmoriel."
Celebrial's head shot up and both hers and Thranduil's mouths gaped open.
"My lord, I do not even know this Vanmoriel and I already have Celebrial."
Oropher indicated to his right where his head advisor stood and a stunning elleth was standing next to him, "She is the daughter of Dûrion."
Thranduil stared at Vanmoriel, but it was not out of admiration but of outrage. He had to admit that she was very beautiful with flowing, raven black hair that reached just below her waist, her eyes were almost as piercing as his and her figure was more willowy than Celebrial's, not to mention taller, but she was not the woman he loved and she could not hold a candle to Celebrial. He turned his eyes back to Oropher, "Forgive me, my lord, but I must decline, I am already in love with another." He turned to look at Celebrial with all the love in his eyes.
Celebrial's heart swelled, she was worried that Thranduil might have taken to the other woman – she felt inferior and ugly in her presence, she thought that one look at Vanmoriel had he would forget about her – she should have known better and know; that Thranduil was nothing like that. Oropher's words interrupted her thoughts.
"You do not have a choice on the matter."
"But...but -"
"You are to marry Vanmoriel and that is final. You are dismissed."
Thranduil looked to his mother with shock in his eyes but she merely stared back at him and telling him with her eyes that she was sticking with Oropher for once.
The prince took one final look at Celebrial before bursting through the doors and sprinting through the palace and towards the stables. He gave no thought to his leg, he did not care about the shooting pain but only that he wanted to get away as far as possible and as fast as possible. He ran into the stables where he found Barasath going wild at the sight of him. Thranduil leaped onto his back without a saddle or tack and galloped through the stables. The stable-hands had to leap out of the way of the charging horse.
Barasath reared on his hind legs and kicked the main-door open with his front hooves. Once the duo was out in the open, Barasath galloped as fast as possible for the forest.
The stead did not know where they were going but he did not care as long as he was free of the stables. Thranduil never neglected him but for Barasath, it was always a treat to go for a good run without having to slow down unless Thranduil commanded him to, but no such command was being voiced and that made him all the more cheerful.
Thranduil was in a completely different mood. The more he thought about what his parents had done the tighter his jaw clenched, 'How did this happen? It was quite obvious that Oropher was going to do something like this, but mother? She was supposed to be on my side!! Celebrial said I was selfish, mother probably thinks that as well. Maybe I am, maybe I should go through with it even if it costs me Celebrial, if I am to be a prince, then I must do what is right.' His eyesight began to blur, 'What kind of a life would that be, forced into a loveless marriage? There was something in her eyes, something I did not like, she seemed too haughty, I do not like it.' His horse jumped over a protruding root, jostling him out of his thoughts, but it was not long before his thoughts took over again, 'I am only using that as an excuse, maybe she is not so bad, but she will never have my love, my heart will always belong to Celebrial.' Thranduil spurred his horse onwards, going at an even quicker pace.
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In Imladris
Sitting at his desk, Elrond reread the letter that he received from Thranduil. It wished him a merry Winter Solstice, but it carried an undertone of problems. He, like Thranduil, knew of the elvenking's issue at this time of year, but not of the cause, he described how worried he was for his father and how Oropher was going to drink himself into a stupor until the festivities were over. He wrote about the news that had arisen and how he was going to get a new sibling, expressing his excitement over it. Thranduil mentioned that something else had arisen, but did not specify what, only that he found great joy.
The lord of Rivendell placed the letter back onto his desk and sighed. He already sent a reply and he should be receiving it in about three days. Although, his thoughts were still troubled; he was happy that his letter spoke of happiness, but somehow, the letter darkened his mood, but why, he could not say.
His eyes began to glaze over when he heard Galadrial in his head, far speaking to him, 'Events are beginning to unravel, events that could decide the fate of Greenwood the Great. One tiny thread has already been pulled, if it is not fixed the rest of the tapestry will fall apart.'
'You are speaking in riddles, my lady.'
'The crossroad still lies before him, he has but to follow the right path.'
'Of whom do you speak?'
'He will need to be strong. You know in your heart who I am talking about.'
'Is there anything I can do?'
'There is nothing, only he can mend the tapestry and alter the course.'
Elrond felt the presence leave, leaving him drained. He flopped down into his chair in a way that would make Erestor frown, but he did not care, what the Lady of Light told him disturbed him.
Җ
In Greenwood
Everyone left behind in the throne-room stared at the large doors, mulling over what just happened. Vanmoriel looked distressed, "Oh dear, I do not think he likes the idea of this arrangement."
Celebrial glared at her, her voice dripped with way too much sweetness and that annoyed her.
Oropher looked over at his advisor, then at the lady, "He does not have an option. I have chosen you for the prince, he will have to live with that. My grandchildren must all be of noble birth."
Theliel glided down the steps and stepped towards Celebrial, "I am so sorry about all of this but you understand, do you not?"
Celebrial did something that she thought would never do. She pulled out of the hand that was on her shoulder and left the room with tears in her eyes.
Theliel looked down with sorrow written on her face, she knew what it was to be in love. The queen turned her head to the rest of the occupants. She could tell that the three of them were already making plans for the wedding and she knew that she had to be involved but she did not feel like it at that stage. Like her son, she often sought comfort from the surrounding trees when times were trouble.
Unlike the other two, she left the others in a much more sedate pace and walked towards the gardens.
Җ
Galloping deeper and deeper into the forest, the ride went smoothly, that was, until the horse whinnied and reared. Because Thranduil was caught off guard, he did not have time to tighten his thighs or his fingers and fell roughly to the ground, jarring his leg badly, causing him to hiss and grimace. While standing and dusting himself off, he grumbled to himself and then addressed the horse, "What in Mordor has gotten into you!?"
Barasath continued to prance and snort, not paying any attention to his master.
Thranduil frowned at the horse, "Barasath –." He was cut off by a sound that chilled his blood. Right in front of them was a tree-snake, still coiled around the nearby tree. Without taking his eyes of the snake, he slowly backed towards his frantic horse and placed a shaky hand on his neck, "Steady, mellon." He stared at the hissing snake, "Just back away slowly."
Once they were at a safe distance, Thranduil collapsed to the ground and leaned his head against a tree. After he managed to calm himself, he stared through the trees and looked to the snake, which was slithering up the tree. He berated himself for panicking at the mere sight of a snake, it was embarrassing. What kind of a prince quaked at the reptile? The critter was smaller than he was, nothing to fear at all. Seeing the snake brought back memories, memories of the time when he almost lost his life because of one tiny bite. Pulling up his sleeve, he ran a finger over the scar. Barasath snorted, indicating that it was time to go, 'But where? To face whatever lies ahead.' He vaulted onto the horse and urged him forward, in the direction of the capital.
Җ
The sun was setting when he reached the palace, painting the sky with vivid colours. Giving his horse one final pat, Thranduil decided that there were three people that he needed to face. He heard a distinct voice that was coming from the royal-gardens, it could have only been one person...his mother. He scanned everywhere until he found her sitting on one of the benches under a tree, "Mother?"
Theliel stood up immediately and gave her son a hug, "Thank goodness, I was so worried about you."
Thranduil rubbed her back in soothing circles, "Why?"
"When you ran off, I was not sure where you headed and the forest can be a dangerous place if you are not careful."
Her son pulled out of her embrace, "I am alright, I just...there is alot to take in and you have to understand where I am coming from, this is not easy for me, you know!"
"Calm yourself, ion, I understand that this is difficult for you –."
"Do you!! As far as you are concerned, everything will be perfect once I marry Vanmoriel!! You just stood there, not caring a wit about me or Celebrial!! Why can you not see that I love her and only her? Can you really force me into a bitter marriage? Because once I am bonded with her, there will be no way out of it."
Theliel bit her lip as tears ran down her soft cheeks, "I know that." She whispered, "What would you have me do?"
"Help me, help us."
The queen shook her head, "How?"
"Convince the king otherwise; help me to train Celebrial to become a princess."
"You know how stubborn your father can be – he is worse than a mule."
"There must be something you can do."
"Thranduil, your father is on the right track, marrying Vanmoriel will be the best thing for this kingdom and her people."
"Mother, if he gets his way...I will fade." He turned and left her standing there.
Җ
TBC
Translation/s:
Vanmoriel: Dark beauty
Dûrion: Dark one
Mellon: Friend
Ion: Son
God bless and ride free, citizens.