When Nenni at long last spent her emotions, she felt consumed by happiness. Thranduil had proved to be attentive and solicitous; he still held her in his arms. She had arrived in a new life, and had so much to learn about it.
"Thranduil, thank you. You have treated me very kindly." Nenni reached up to stroke his face and hair.
"Do you not expect this from a husband?" he asked with a bemused look. She reflected a moment before answering.
"My life has taught me that happiness comes from not having expectations. If I had them, I could be disappointed. If I do not have them, then I only need to be grateful for what is done on my behalf." He looked at her, wondering how exactly any one from the human world could be this good.
"You are filled with light, Adonnenniel. It is a marvel to me, and you will teach me much," he said. Nenni laughed.
"I am not perfect, Thranduil. There is light and darkness in most people. Darkness lives in me as well..." she drifted off. "It is a part of me best left undisturbed. It is the choices we make, not the sum of our experiences, that determine our course."
He looked at her silently for some time. "Adonnenniel, we are reunited with each other fully now, wed in body and in spirit. It is customary that I bestow two things; a ring, and an epessë. He stood up to retrieve a small box from a table near the bed, and returned to sit behind her. When he pulled her against him, her back leaned against his chest. He reached around and took her left hand in his, and with his right hand placed a work of art onto her left index finger and thumb. It was the most delicately rendered double armor ring, worked of the thinnest silvered steel, in an open pattern that described leaves and blossoms. Thin bands encircled the base of both the lower and middle joints of her finger. At the same time, a band went over her thumb, continuing the same metalwork pattern. A fine chain joined the rings. Many small emeralds completed the suggestion of green leaves, while clear gems that refracted the light created the flowers.
"This is...for me?" This is the most exquisite ring I've ever seen, she reeled. "This is...very beautiful."
"I am glad you approve," he said. "I give you also the epessë Edlothiad." Flower, she realized.
"Thranduil, I thank you for these. Both are precious to me." She turned to wrap her arms around him, beaming with contentment. He held up his hand. "There is one more gift I would give you, Adonnenniel Edlothiad. You are now my queen consort."
He stood up once more, to retrieve a somewhat larger box, handing it to her. She moved to the edge of the bed, to take it from him and carefully opened the lid. At the sight of the contents, her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened.
The gleaming emerald necklace was fit to be among the crown jewels of any royalty. Not just an emerald necklace, there were hundreds of stones, a few being quite large, set into the carcanet that then joined to a collar necklace. It would cover much of her throat, neck, chest and upper back in a lacework of silvered steel and gems. Thranduil removed the necklace from the box and draped it around her neck, fastening it in back.
"This is the Necklace of Girion" he told her. He guided her to a mirror, so she could see herself. She gazed at her reflection in stunned silence, wearing nothing but the jewels he'd given her. This was completely overwhelming...she had been occupied fully with her husband, as a man. He'd made it easy to forget he was also a King.
"Thank you, my Lord," she finally stammered out. Her impulse was to tell him that she could not accept a gift such as this, so far beyond anything to which she was accustomed...but she knew that would not please him. She had to accept whatever walking at his side entailed. Suck it up, cupcake, she ordered herself. "I know not what to say, they are...they are...I have no words."
Her mind shifted, spinning with her imaginings of what a king's consort did, and of her complete inadequacy. She disliked large groups, and while she knew little of what duties there would be, it stood to reason that many of them might require formality. After a month, she barely knew how to find her way to the kitchens, having spent most of her time shuttered in various rooms. How she was to support him, she had no idea.
Thranduil sensed her struggle. "All things in time, Adonnenniel," he said, leaning down to kiss her. Desire ran though her, at his touch, and she returned his kiss hungrily. He carried her back to the bed, becoming equally aroused. "Lie still", he told her. The better part of the next hour was spent in a demonstration of some of his other bedroom talents. She watched his ministrations through the gleam of the emeralds in the soft light, and wanted nothing more. With every new wave of ecstasy he gave her, he tightened and knotted the bonds joining them. As she knew would happen, her heart was no longer her own.
When they were both satisfied and needing no more, Thranduil held her. "Adonnenniel, forgive me! You have had no food or drink since breakfast. Are you hungry?"
She honestly hadn't thought about it, given the magnitude of her distractions. Yet now that he mentioned it, food was a welcome thought. He helped her out of the necklace, and they both dressed. The hour was late, but she'd slept for much of the afternoon. They helped themselves from the trays of fruits and rolls that were laid out near his dining table at all times. Nenni watched him eat. She would never tire of looking at him.
There were armchairs near a fireplace. A large iron fireback with patterns of trees and leaves stood inside, behind the grate. He swiftly kindled a fire that was soon ablaze. They each sat, Nenni tucking her feet up underneath her, staring at the flames. She looked up to notice Thranduil staring at her longingly. She smiled and traded her chair for his lap, and his encircling arms. While she was not tiny, neither was she large. When she stood, she reached his breast. She was of medium build, and stood straight. She did not see herself as beautiful, but she had a pleasing enough form, with shapely, firm breasts that were perfectly in proportion to the rest of her.
She snuggled into the warmth of his robes, enjoying the scent of him. "Thranduil," she began, breaking the silence. "There is so much I wish to know. May we talk?"
"Of course, meleth", he answered.
"The way you join your mind to mine, there is nothing like this on my world. When you enter my mind, do you see everything? How does that work?"
"Those among us who possess this gift respect the sanctity of the mind. I would never look further than I was asked to," he said.
"But what of abilities?" she pressed. "I can understand your language because of you, can't I? Do you understand the languages of Earth that I know?" Nenni asked.
"There are," he agreed, "effects that can be unavoidable. And yes, the knowledge of your speech has transferred to me. For this kind of reason alone, the joining of minds is not something we do...casually."
"Could I show you my memories, if I chose?" He hesitated.
"It...can be done. Meleth, I would fear to show you all that is in my mind. The things that I have seen...and I was not always as I am now. You would be greatly displeased by the person I spent much my life being."
Nenni pulled back to look into his eyes. She spoke very softly, tracing the lines of his cheek. "Together we will find the courage by which you will share these things, when you are ready, Thranduil. It is because you keep them locked away that they yet have any power left over you. I have done things I am fairly certain you will find appalling, and of which I'm not proud. But so you know, there is no place in my mind, no thought, that I would hide from you. I grant you open permission to look whenever and wherever you wish. The nature of love is that when we confront our fears of rejection, and find acceptance, we are healed."
Thranduil looked at her, and could not find words to answer.
"Thranduil?" Nenni asked some time after. "May I ask you for something?"
He smiled "What is it, meleth?"
"I have not seen Beren since I came to your chambers. I should very much like to...and are there horses here? I have not ridden in such a long time." She stopped and started over. "I think I am trying to say that I wish to see my dog and some of the forest, if it is allowed."
"I think that is manageable," he said, smiling.
"But I too would like to ask for something. One more day with you, alone, before I must consider that I am ignoring my duties as King."
She smiled, drifting asleep in his arms, feeling the ring on her finger. "As you wish, my Lord."
