silentmayhem: Don't worry. Things will get better for Thranduil. . . eventually.

Noxy the Proxy: Of course there's more. I wasn't going to end the story there.

pink bunny: Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own "The Hobbit."

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Chapter 10: Settling In

Time seemed to move quickly after that day, where once it had moved slowly.

Once Sarah had gotten control of her emotions, Edana had taken her to the tailors and helped her pick out the colors and patterns she wanted. After that, Adlanniel and Mirima had helped her move her things, which wasn't very much, into her new suite in the royal wing of the palace, which they had been preparing for her since the previous day. Sarah's new room was bigger than her entire house had been, back when she was still human. It consisted of a sitting room, small library, bedchamber, walk-in closet, and bathroom. Edana had been green with envy, though she tried to hide it.

Sarah had, of course, protested that it was all a bit too much, but Adlanniel and Mirima would not hear of it. They said that she was a princess now, so there was no reason why she shouldn't live like one. The new princess whispered to her cousin-turned-sister that her room felt very empty. Edana had whispered back that, if she ever got too lonely, she would happily come and spend the night with her. They could get snacks from Calanon and turn it into a sort of slumber party. This cheered Sarah up a little bit to know that she wouldn't be entirely alone.

Legolas was also a big help. After talking with Edana, they decided that Sarah was not to be left alone in case Thranduil tried to get close to her. For the sake of her mental and emotional states, they would allow Sarah time to heal from past wounds before Thranduil would be allowed to step in and take on the roll of a father.

The only problem they ran into was that there would be times when neither Legolas nor Edana would be available to stay with Sarah. Legolas had princely duties to attend to, as well as his place on the Mirkwood Guard. Edana had decided to permanently work in the kitchens. She claimed it was because of her love of food and passion for baking, but Legolas and Sarah both secretly thought that it was really for a certain handsome pastry chef.

This problem was quickly solved with the introduction of another face that was familiar to Sarah and Edana: Tauriel. Legolas fixed it so that, when he and Edana were busy, Tauriel would be free to watch over Sarah. Edana had early mornings, Tauriel had late mornings and early afternoons, and Legolas had late afternoons. They usually all had the evenings free to themselves, which they spent together as a group. Even though Tauriel's only task was to look after Sarah during her scheduled time, all three girls became fast friends, and Tauriel saw her time with Sarah as less of a chore and began to look forward to when Edana would leave for work and hand Sarah over to her.

Sarah was never bored. She and Edana would continue to explore the palace, discovering new places and spending time in certain locations that they both liked, usually just talking. Tauriel would dedicate her time to teaching Sarah self-defense, at Sarah's request. The story of her mother's death was haunting her a bit. It was mostly archery, daggers and knives, and hand-to-hand combat; Sarah hadn't taken well to swords. Her time with Legolas was spent in either the stables or the library. This was time dedicated to Sarah's magic. In the stables, Sarah would work on mental communication and calling selected animals to her without speaking. In the library, Sarah studied animal anatomy, in case her wild magic included healing animals. Of course, they wouldn't know until an animal got hurt and she actually tried to heal it.

Sarah was quite exhausted at the end of the day. But she was happy, as long as it kept her away from Thranduil.

That's not to say the Elvenking didn't try. When he wasn't attending to any kingly business, you would usually find him loitering around wherever Sarah was at the time. He would try to approach Sarah and say something to her, but her three guardians found ways to steer her away from him so that he couldn't follow. Of course, this was only if Sarah didn't want to face him. The group of four developed a series of signals, saying whether Sarah wanted to leave or stay if Thranduil was coming their way. The latter was not used very often, and, when it was, it was usually when they were all together. After a while it began to really irritate the Elvenking. Legolas and the girls knew this, but they didn't care. In fact, they rather enjoyed it.

Gandalf wasn't seen again. Sarah and Edana learned that he had left not long after Thranduil had first tried to talk to Sarah. They were disappointed. Sarah had wanted to ask him more about her magic, and Edana wanted to know whatever he could tell her about why she had come here with Sarah.

Two more months flew by. They hardly noticed the time. One evening, after dinner, they all sat outside and nibbled on pastries that Edana and Calanon were experimenting with and needed people to sample before anyone else could try them.

"I can't believe how much time has passed," Sarah commented. "It's been three months since Edana and I were running from spiders in the forest, trying to defend ourselves with branches." Everyone laughed at the memory of Sarah and Edana's first arrival.

"It seems only yesterday we were being introduced to Thranduil," Edana said, "and I was being nothing but sassy with him."

"You are like that whenever you see him," Legolas told her. "I heard you call him 'Twig Head' that day." Edana laughed. "Besides, not many people have the courage to stand up to him, and I think it is good that you do not acquiesce when he gives you an order in his most frightening voice."

"I grew up with two older brothers. They toughened me up when I was still a kid. I am not easily frightened."

"I'll believe it."

"I think the only reason the king does not punish you," Tauriel began, "is the fact that you and Sarah are close, and he does not want to hurt his daughter."

"Too late," Sarah mumbled as she rubbed her arm. The bruise had faded, but the memory still haunted her. There were actually nights when she had woken up in a cold sweat from nightmares where she was being abused, and the abuser's face would switch back and forth from Thranduil to her fake-father.

"I think he is up to something," Legolas announced. "He no longer tries to approach Sarah and he does not venture out of his rooms as much as he used to, except on important business. He is plotting something, and I believe Sarah may be at the heart of it." He looked over at his sister, who was taking small bites of a red-berry tart and trying to look calm.

"Unless it is a speech that makes me want to run into his arms and hug him rather than run as far away from him as possible," she said after swallowing, "I'm not interested."

"I do not think that will change his mind about whatever he is deciding," her brother told her.

"He never changes his mind about anything once he has made a decision," Tauriel pointed out to the prince.

"True."

"Enough about your royal pain of a father," Edana said, getting a few laughs for her description. "Let's talk about something more cheerful." She turned to Sarah. "How are your magic studies coming along?"

"Better than they were with Daine," Sarah responded, referring to the character with wild magic from the books she had read. "I don't forget I'm a person when I reach out to an animal. And even though there aren't any experts available to help me learn to use my magic, I'm progressing very well. At least, that's what Idhrenion tells me."

"I always wondered how you knew which direction to take concerning your magic," Legolas commented.

"I'm not flying blind here," Sarah said. "Not exactly. There isn't anyone else with wild magic that I can go to for help, and Gandalf certainly didn't stick around long enough for me to ask him for any assistance. The only expertise I have available to me is the books I've read. Daine had to learn how to use her magic just the same as me. I thought that, since my magic and hers are the same, I might as well take a similar approach."

"Good thinking," Edana said.

For the rest of the evening, the subjects went from magical discussions to talk of the trip to Rivendell that the Mirkwood royals would be taking. This trip had been planned since before Sarah and Edana had arrived, and the girls were looking forward to it. They would be leaving in the morning and would have to get up early, so the group said early goodnights and retreated to their separate rooms.

But Sarah found that she could not fall asleep as easily this night as on other nights. A feeling of dread entered her heart, and she found herself starting to fear the trip to Rivendell. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep.

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So what did you think of that? What will happen to Sarah? What does that feeling of dread mean?

The cyber-cookies are still here waiting for someone to guess what book Sarah's referring to.

Leave me a review.