AN: Here it be for Melody-chii, since she asked for quick posting (and has just had loads of nasty exams). Oh, by the way, Melody-chii asked for a pre-3rd age fic which i have now completed in record time (less than 3 day) and this shall start being posted after i've finished with the last few chapters of this.
Daughter of the Sea 12
King Thranduil glared at the silver-blue haired elleth standing calmly before him.
"And why, pray tell, is a Telerin Elf here to help, and what possibly can one young elleth do to help a kingdom under the siege from two sides?" The golden-haired King, noticeably different from his dark-haired subjects, had a voice made of ice.
"Because I am the only person around who can replace the help given by a ring of power, Oropherion." Thranduil took on a look even icier (if possible) than before at her term of address.
"You will address me with respect! Especially within my own halls!" he spoke quietly. Despite his reputation for volatility, he clearly understood that controlled anger was far more effective. She smiled nastily at him.
"And you will speak to the daughter of Ulmö as you would to any member of the Valar. My father and uncle sent me here to provide you with celestial assistance, if you don't want it..." she trailed off suggestively. He glared hard.
"And why would I believe you as anything other than insane after a claim like that?" Aista smiled coolly and let the telepathic magic she'd leant in Valinor flow. She watched with quiet satisfaction as the King's eyes, and just about everyone else's eyes, widened significantly. Thranduil swallowed.
"Princess, please forgive my rudeness. I was unaware that the sea-Lord had a daughter, and definitely that she actually wandered Arda." He looked like he was about to go on in his shock. Aista smiled slightly and intervened.
"Your lack of faith is understandable, King Thranduil. I'm guessing you would like me to stay?" The King nodded slightly and then looked almost hesitantly at her. The look most definitely did not suit the arrogant, self-assured face of the King. "Was there something you wished to ask?" After a second's hesitation, he spoke up,
"Your mother, I'm..."he trailed off in the face of her dry look.
"Was an Elf my father fell in love with and took away and hid, as he did not wish to tell the rest of the Valar he had bonded with an Elf. When they found out about her, they drowned her in a cove. My father then retrieved her from the Halls of Mandos and she now lives with him in his water palace." Thranduil raised an eyebrow at her.
"And what was her name?" he asked softly. Aista looked up at him, almost defiantly.
"Meluiel"
It was not just the King who had a certain look of being thunderstruck.
XXX
Aista was irritated. She hadn't been able to get a straight answer out of the King as to what the big shocker about her mother's name was. None of the other Elves would tell her either. She paced back and forth across the opulent room she had been provided with, wondering how long it would be before the promised guide would come to take her to dinner.
Eventually, a very respectful young elleth knocked on the door and escorted her to a private room, where only King Thranduil was waiting for her. He stood when she arrived and helped her to her seat, quite the gentleman now.
After he sat her down, he looked at her slightly apologetically.
"We would usually hold a great feast for such an important visitor to our realm, but we are presently preparing for a siege and we cannot spare the excess of food that always accompanies such occasions." He looked a bit embarrassed at his admission of present scarcity. Aista was quick to reassure him.
"Believe me, I do understand. Actually, I would be more worried about your sanity if you were holding large festivities at such a time. Not to mention the fact that I do not revel in big, formal dos." Thranduil smiled slightly at her, getting her accidental drop into another world's slang.
"It appears we agree on something then, for I confess a lack of joy in such events myself and I think my son would rather go on deadly trips than attend balls and such like." Aista grinned slightly.
"I was wondering why he agreed to join the Fellowship..." she trailed off slightly, looking at the King, unsure if she'd hit what had huge potential to be a raw spot. After a few seconds, he let out a bark of laughter.
"Most would not have mentioned that, Princess, you are a most interesting one. So tell me what precipitated your dislike of formal occasions?" She grinned slightly.
"You've never been to one held by the Valar, have you? They do formality with the best of them, or the worst for that matter. Manwë has a pole up his backside, Varda is snide, Tulkas and Oromë have all the social grace of two who think with their muscles though the latter of which can at least hold a non-fighting related conversation – mostly due to associating with the Elves a lot in the Years of the Trees. Not that the earliest Elves were always the most sophisticated bunch at that time either. Unlike the Valar, though, they've matured rather better. Nienna is a wet rag and the obligatory wall-flower of any party, Yavanna is a total hippy, and Aulë is just a wee bit too like his pet race to get on with, right down to the whole beer thing – I'm sure you're getting the idea now. I could go on being rude about my family for quite a while." She grinned at the blonde King, who was also grinning at her.
"I have never heard such candid descriptions or such unflattering ones before. Even as a relative of theirs, I think you're rather brave." Aista grinned again.
"I've already been on the receiving end of the Valar, with homicidal impulses towards me, before now; after that, you tend to be rather less scared of them. On the subject of family, why did my mother's name cause such a stir?" She hoped this more private setting would encourage him to speak. Even so, the King hesitated before responding.
"Did she ever tell you where she came from?" Aista shook her head slightly, confused. "She was a Wood Elf, a popular one. When she simply vanished, it caused much anguish." He looked at Aista's curious expression and sighed.
"She was unusual amongst the Sindar and Silvan in that she took after her distant Telerin heritage greatly, and unlike most Wood Elves, loved the sea dearly without feeling its call. Not long before she disappeared, it became common knowledge that she had found love, a suitor who courted her in the most wonderful ways, though none knew who he was. Then, just as we were expecting an announcement of marriage and an introduction to this mysterious suitor, she just vanished. Your mentioning of her reminded us of one well set in the older of my kind's memories – and explained much." Aista looked at him in surprise.
"Nana never mentioned that! Though, then again, she never mentioned anything before father. T'is nice to know, however, thank you."
Thranduil smiled slightly at her, his face wistful.
"You were fond of her personally?" she asked, thinking it the only thing that could cause such an expression. He smiled sadly up at her.
"Yes, I suppose I was, and it caused me much personal pain when you father took her from me. Far more than I am prepared to admit." Aista gently placed a hand on his arm, hoping it gave him comfort. He just looked sadly up at her before changing the subject.
XXX
Over the next several days, Aista got the impression that there had been quite something the King had missed in his narrative about her mother. Aista was determined to find out what it was, but the Elves of this dark wood were less than forthcoming.
Soon though, she forgot about it in the mists of preparing for battle. More than once in their preparations, assorted Wood Elves would get treated to spectacular blow-ups between their King and the celestial Princess, neither being good at taking orders.
Thankfully, neither Elf realised there was a secret pool going on which one would kill the other first.
Even though they argued during the day, they still had those private dinners where they were perfectly cordial to each other, getting on quite well. Aista smiled when she thought about how they argued during the day and talked during the evening. She never was able to get more about her mother out of him, however.
As she stood watching the sky, she shook her head slightly at the strange relationship she had formed with the King.
Suddenly, she whipped out a knife as she sensed an approaching presence, only to relax slightly as a Mirkwood Elf in royal livery ran up to her.
"The King says 'Come!', the first attack has started."
XYXYXYXYXXX
AN: A virtual cookie to whoever works out the relationship between Thranduil and Meluiel first. :D