Chapter 10

One Night

Thranduil's POV

That night when I walked into the garden she was there. She was by that pool of water she loved so much. I smiled and she turned to look at me. Her hair was done in an elven style and the moonlight shone upon her.

"Hello Thranduil." she said softly.

I walked up close to her and smiled at her.

"You look beautiful." I said.

She smiled and cast her eyes down. I slowly reached out and lifted her chin.

"Why do you look away from me?" I whispered.

"~I am afraid of what I will do if I look at you.~" she answered.

I frowned.

"Please look at me?" I asked.

She slowly looked into my eyes. I stared into the deep emerald green that belonged to her.

"~What do you fear you will do?~"

I saw her look into my eyes again and then she briefly looked at my lips. I smiled a bit and leaned forward. I could feel the warmth of her lips but then she suddenly turned away.

"~I cannot!~"

I will not lose her!

I gently put my hands on her shoulders.

"~Please do not turn away from me Aleena. Please.~"

She took a deep breath and I felt one of her hands cover mine.

"~It….it is hard for me to be the same way with you….after last time. I am afraid.~"

Pain stabbed at my heart.

"~You are afraid of me?~" I asked.

She nodded and I slowly ran my hands down her arms.

"~You have every right to be after what I did. I would not ask your forgiveness, I do not deserve it. Nor do I deserve you, but I….~"

I had not spoken such words since Silivrenniel had died. I did not know how to say it. She turned her head to look at me. She gently pressed her lips to mine. I closed my eyes and put one hand on her neck and the other on the side of her face. She moved her lips with mine and then pulled back slightly. My eyes remained closed and I rested my forehead against hers.

"~Stay with me this night. Even if it is only one night. Let me be with you at least once.~"

I felt her thin fingers run through my hair and the other hand stroked down my cheek.

"~One night.~"

I smiled and kissed her again. I could feel her smile and I lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around me and I chuckled. I pulled back and smiled at her.

"~Nothing will happen between us if you do not want it to. I want you to be happy Aleena. That was why I said those things to you. I was worried that if one day you recovered your memory, you would want to go home. I could not bear the pain and I did not want you to have to choose between your family and myself.~"

Tears filled her eyes and she hid her face in my shoulder.

"Aleena?"

"My parents….they are dead."

I set her down and she held onto me.

"~I met an elf woman in Dulliond. She thought I was my mother. She told me my parents were gone and that I had been taken in by a traveling dwarf. They could not tell me who he was or where he was from. Only that he said he would raise me. I never even knew my own mother and father.~" she said.

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close.

"~I am so sorry.~"

She did not cry though, she was strong. I lifted her face and smiled at her.

"~Even though I have no love of dwarves, had he not taken you in and raised you….I would have never met you.~" I said.

She smiled a bit and I kissed her.

Aleena's POV

I loved it when he kissed me. This time I wanted more than just a simple kiss. I licked over his lips and he held me tighter. He opened his mouth and his tongue stroked mine. I held back my moan and he moved one of his hands between my shoulders. I pressed against him and he fell back. I pulled away and I laughed bit.

"My apologies."

He laughed and sat up a bit. He stroked my cheek and I smiled. I remembered what Tauriel said and sighed.

"What is it?"

"I have heard whispers that in the past you have had lovers."

He looked down as though he was ashamed.

"I will not deny it."

I lifted his face.

"I have also heard that in the past twenty years you have had no one."

He shook his head.

"No, because all I could think of was you. It was always you."

My heart leapt and I kissed him hard. One of his hands tunneled into my hair and he moaned. He moved down my jaw and neck hungrily and I did not stop him, I did not want to. He kissed down over my shoulder through my tunic. He gently laid me back and kissed down to my chest. A terrible memory came to me. I was being held down and my cloths were being ripped off. I started to scream and Thranduil immediately backed away.

"Aleena?! What is it!?" he asked.

He sounded worried and I opened my eyes.

"I think I….I think I was…."

His eyes went wide.

"No…."

I started to cry and he pulled me to his chest.

"That explains a few things."

I pulled back and looked at him.

"O man pedich?" I asked.

"When Legolas found you, your cloths had been ripped and almost torn off. I did not stay long enough to question the healers. Aleena I am so sorry. If I ever find who did it….."

I put my fingers to his lips and smiled a bit.

"All I needed to know was that you cared. The healers never said anything about it, so I do not think I was, at least not fully. I am sorry I pushed you away and frightened you."

He shook his head.

"No, do not apologize. You were scared and I think I can understand that. I will never hurt you or force anything on you Aleena. I promise."

I nodded and rested my head against his chest. The steady sound of his heart calmed me.

"Maybe I was running away. Maybe that was why I fell in the river. I must have hit my head or something." I said.

He seemed to tense up a bit.

"Perhaps."

I looked up at him.

"Are you worried?" I asked.

"I would lying if I said no, and I could never lie to you. Yes I am a bit worried."

I reached up and stroked his cheek.

"What do you worry about?"

He took a deep breath.

"That when you regain your memory you shall want to leave." he whispered.

I smiled a bit.

"Thranduil look at me." I said gently.

He looked onto my eyes and I smiled at him.

"I will never leave you again." I said.

I kissed him gently and then pulled back to stroke his cheek. He smiled and stood up. He held his hand out to me and pulled me to my feet.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

I nodded because I truly was exhausted. He smiled and led me back to his chambers. I smiled a bit and blushed. He had a large bed and a warm hearth near the door. I smiled and he took my hands.

"Let us sleep. I will hold you so nightmares or bad memories can harm you."

I nodded and I took off my outer layers until I only wore my tunic and my trousers. The second I saw him with his tunic off my eyes went wide. Strong arms and a chiseled chest were revealed and I could not look away. He kept his trousers on and then looked at me. He smiled when he found me staring. He held out his hand again and I took it. He led me to his bed and we both go int. I looked at him and nodded. He put his arms around me and my back pressed up against his chest.

"Sleep well Aleena. A'mealamin." he whispered.

"Good night…Thranduil."

I closed my eyes and smiled. I knew he would protect me and I fell into a deep sleep.