Chapter Twenty-five
The great hall was filled with elves, flowers in every shade, and greenery scattered throughout in joyous celebration of the return of spring once more. A hushed silence was over the gathering as the ellon and elleth all eyes were on finished speaking earnest words of promise to each other, and exchanged gold bands which shone brightly when they clasped hands as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
Eager applause thundered loudly and Elizabeth reached up to brush away a happy tear as she leaned closer to the King. "To finally see elves kiss, at last. Now, if you had done things this way, I would have known when we were marrying."
His piercing blue eyes swept the room and her. "I but skipped the unnecessary preliminaries and actually wed you. This is merely ceremony," Thranduil murmured. "You know they are not truly married until they consummate."
She quirked a brow and looked at her husband. "You always have to have everything your own way, don't you?"
He leveled an amused look at her before returning his gaze to Feren and Elirien. "That is a king's prerogative. You may pretend exasperation all you like, but I know very well you enjoy the outcome when I have things my way."
She looked down and ran a finger over the exquisite emerald, diamond and mithril wedding band and solitaire set that was prominently displayed on the ring finger of her left hand, before glancing to the matching band the King wore on his own ring finger, in deference to her traditions.
After she had hit her head and lost her memory, declaring she wasn't married because she wore no bands, he had taken it upon himself to discover her ring preferences, then had their rings made in secret and presented them to her on the evening of their first anniversary, several months before.
Elizabeth smiled softly while she recalled that night, before catching his overly smug smirk. She gave him a narrow-eyed glare as the enthusiastic toasts to the married couple began.
"I do hope you don't expect me to admit that aloud, husband. I'm certain your ego needs no further stroking."
Feren stood and lifted his glass toward Thranduil and Elizabeth, interrupting their quiet conversation and surprising her with his openness and easy words, with not a sign of his usual sternness or reserve.
"A toast to our wise queen, who is entirely responsible for this current happiness, as she made the match between Elirien and myself." He smiled down at his bride seated beside him, and she beamed up at him, looking beautiful in her pale blue wedding gown.
"Without her gently encouraging me toward my need for a wife, I fear I might have remained in my miserable solitude indefinitely."
While the guests laughed and drank the toast, the king lifted his glass toward Feren. "Well said, Captain. I believe the queen possesses quite a remarkable gift for revealing an elf's need for a wife, which not even I was immune to," he quipped with a wry look. He turned a warning smile to where Mylion, Berthon and Tirion sat clustered together. "Bachelors beware," he murmured, and took a sip of his wine.
Elizabeth laughed quietly at her friend's concerned looks in her direction when Feren spoke up again with a hopeful smile. "My lady, will you further honor us with a song from your land?"
Smiling, she stood to her feet. "Of course, Feren, it would be my pleasure. Mylion, if you will assist me?"
Mylion rose and followed her to where several musicians were seated with their instruments, waiting to play for the dancing to come, and borrowed a sermalírë, (Quenya: string-song) a stringed instrument played with a bow, which Elizabeth considered much like the elven equivalent to a violin. She murmured quietly to Mylion, who nodded before he began to play a beautiful, lilting melody. Smiling, the queen looked at Feren and Elirien and started to sing.
"The stars, forever unchanging,
they guide us on paths unseen
and you were written in my story,
destined to collide with me"
~o~
She turned her gaze briefly to the King, the words of her song really intended much more for him than for the newlyweds. From the intent expression in his eyes, he well knew she sang it to him.
~o~
"They say you stole me in moonlight,
but Love, I was already yours,
for we were written in the starlight,
as the wolf belongs to the moon
~o~
"Like the rain meets the river,
like the trees meet the sky,
we were born to be together,
you and I
~o~
"Like the fish need the water,
like the birds need the sky,
we were made to need each other,
you and I
~o~
"The stars, forever unchanging,
they sent your love to me
but cruel, how late in my story,
you came to collide with me
~o~
"Like the rain loves the thunder,
like the waves kiss the sky,
we were born to love each other,
you and I
~o~
"Like the fire consumes the timber,
like the flames kiss the sky,
we were made to be together,
you and I
~o~
"The stars, forever unchanging,
they guide us on paths unseen
and you were written in my story,
destined to collide with me
destined to collide with me"
~o~
At her song's end, she went and hugged and kissed Elirien and squeezed Feren's hand warmly before returning to sit beside the King. When everyone's attention was on Feren and Elirien's parents, who were speaking their blessings over the union, Thranduil reached for Elizabeth's hand and lifted it for a kiss, the look in his blue eyes sending a flush to her cheeks.
Very beautiful. You have never sung that one for me before, he whispered in her mind.
She smiled and answered him the same way.
No, I was saving it for today.
He turned his gaze back to the proceedings, a slight smile on his lips.
Destined to collide… Quite fitting. I like it.
A warm glow suffused her as she turned her gray-green gaze to him and twirled her rings on her finger.
I hoped you would, love.
Elizabeth spun and slashed her sword forward, then repeated the same move in the quick blur of speed of her kata and held her blade poised at the end of the movement. Suppressing a grin when she felt a sudden surge of awareness through the bond, she turned and was unsurprised to see the Elvenking standing on the edge of the training yard, his arms crossed as he watched her. Surprisingly, he wore none of his long, trailing robes over his tunic, boots and trousers, and actually seemed to be attired for physical activity with his swords hanging at his waist. Quite a change.
Flicking her blade sharply to the side in a form of chiburui, she sheathed it and held his gaze. Strolling casually over to him, she smiled pleasantly at the guards training nearby and looked up at Thranduil. He had been very busy traveling the forest and surveying his borders with his guards over the preceding weeks, and they had not been able to spend much time together as a result. Elizabeth was very happy to see him.
"Good morning, lord husband. Have you come to give me a demonstration on how to fight with two swords?"
He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "A good morning to you, lady wife. I suppose I can if you wish me to, but I had more thought you might like a training partner to practice your skills with."
Her brows rose and she grinned. Since Legolas' departure and her becoming queen, the guards were even more reluctant to train with her than before, and she didn't press any of them, certain they were likely more eager to avoid their king's wrath should she be injured than for any other reason. She really had missed having someone to spar with though…
"So, what exactly are you offering? Just a companion to fight with, or to become my sensei?
He tilted his head, brows furrowed. "I do not know that word. It is not English, is it?"
She shook her head. "No, it's Japanese, as my sword style is. It is a term used to refer to a revered teacher, often a master of their art. Tanaka Gensai was the name of the samurai warrior who taught me, and I called him Master, or Gensai-sensei, as he preferred." Elizabeth laughed in memory. "He was a very difficult, unpleasant man to most people, and he hated living in England, but somehow I managed to persuade him to teach me."
She squinted up at Thranduil in the bright sunlight that shone across the training yard, realizing she had never told him much about her martial training, and he had never discussed with her how he had learned to be such an exceptional warrior. Although, she assumed the thousands of years he had lived and honed his skills in countless battles may have had something to do with it.
"You see, the Samurai were essentially Japanese military nobility, and as I was of the highest English nobility, after speaking to me and judging my character, he respected me enough to teach me. Honor was everything to a Samurai, and they would take their own lives without hesitation before accepting dishonor in any way."
He crossed his arms and frowned, looking across the way to where two of the junior guards dueled with long-swords. "That sounds rather extreme, particularly for short-lived mortals."
She shrugged, as she had never fully been able to understand all the nuances of Samurai code and honor, despite Gensai-sensei trying to explain it to her more than once. "Different lands, different times. I think perhaps to fully understand their code of honor, one would have to be born into it, and part of the people it grew from. But you still haven't answered my question."
He returned his focused regard to her, switching to English for privacy, as he sometimes liked to do when they conversed near others.
"Would you like me to be your master, Elizabeth?"
She smirked as his English words brought immediate, unbidden images of Thranduil clad all in tight, black leather with a whip in his hand, and shook her head to stifle the laugh that rose before it could break free. Elizabeth pressed her lips together to regain her composure, attempting to ignore the strange look he gave her.
"Have I ever said no to anything you ever desired to teach me? If you wish me to learn the sword from you, I will endeavor to be an attentive student… Master." She gave him a flirtatious smile, unable to resist teasing him just a little, even if he didn't fully understand the reference.
His eyes probed hers, although he kept a tight reign on his expression. "I perceive you are no longer referring to swords wielded in battle."
"Your perceptions are correct. Did I ever tell you that the English word for a woman's genitals is the actual word in Latin for sheathe?" she asked conversationally. "Which implies that a female's sexuality cannot truly be defined apart from a male's, as a scabbard or sheathe is rather useless without a sword, isn't it?" She crossed her own arms, mirroring his position, and smiled. "I've always found languages a fascinating reflection of the cultures that produce them."
Thranduil's lips parted as he inhaled, looking conflicted. "I'm uncertain as to how I should proceed in the face of your current playfulness. We could remain here and begin lessons that would likely benefit you in any future warfare, or we could retreat to our rooms to engage in activities that would surely be an immediate benefit to us both."
She laughed softly. "Are you saying you don't think it possible to have your cake and eat it too?"
There was a brief pause as he seemed to be puzzling over her words. "There is clearly some underlying meaning from your land there that you would need to explain, but taken at face value and assuming you are the cake, yes, I am certain I can both have you and devour you, and I would thoroughly enjoy both endeavors."
Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Elizabeth tried to ignore the sudden rush of heat she experienced at his words. "Merciful God," she whispered. "That proverb never had sensual meaning for me before, but it certainly does now." She looked away and drew a deep breath, missing his look of smug amusement.
"What that is meant to imply is that you can't have something both ways, or the best of both worlds." She finally looked at him again with her libido firmly under her control once more. "But in this instance, I think we can. Let us spar now, and you can show me your superior skills and put me on my back, and then later you can put me on my back in a more pleasurable way with other exceptional skills. After all, you are nothing if not patient. I know you can wait."
He smirked. "You have a rather high opinion of my patience. I am not always content to be thus, wife, particularly when you play the temptress as you are currently intent on. It has been many days since I last tasted your delights and you have awakened my hunger for them now."
She stepped back and raised her chin, sending him a challenging look. "If you want me, then come best me into submission first." She licked across her bottom lip to moisten it, drawing his eyes there. "Otherwise, no cake for you." Elizabeth walked toward the far side of the sparring area, the fluid sway of her hips a far more effective taunt and lure than all of her words.
With a small smile, he quickly crossed the space, then drew one of his swords and held it loosely down next to his leg, waiting for her to make the first move.
Elizabeth paced back and forth, trying to size him up in a way she never had before. "How exactly do you want to do this?" she inquired in Sindarin.
His eyes narrowed and he answered her back in English. "With you on top, of course. You're well aware of my preferences."
She shook her head, chuckling. "If you're not going to take me seriously and just play like a cat with a mouse, we might as well stop now."
He nodded, his smile fading. "Try to break through my guard if you can."
Drawing her sword and holding it out in front of her, Elizabeth's eyes grew serious as she contemplated how someone as large as her husband could move with such speed and grace, and how she might possibly manage to get through his guard. It was likely impossible, which meant some kind of a Plan B would be necessary.
"You're thinking about it too much," he murmured. "Just move. Go with your instincts and allow your body to lead you."
"That's a nice idea, in theory." She moved forward suddenly and found her sword was immediately blocked by his in a casual movement of his wrist he could likely perform in his sleep. Stepping back again, she lowered her blade and sighed. "Even if you weren't the elven god of swords, you already know the way I move; rather intimately, in fact. I really haven't a hope."
Thranduil rested the back of his sword against his shoulder. "Then use surprise or some equally unexpected tactic. If you believe there is no hope of victory against me, then you have already lost before you have begun. A strong will is the path to defeating any foe, no matter how powerful."
Right, Plan B, she thought fleetingly.
She gave a self-deprecating smile that she thought someone facing the gallows might wear, and allowed all her uncertainty and insecurity to leak through their open bond in what she hoped was a natural feeling, then set to work, attacking him as best she could.
It was after some time, through seemingly relentless effort on her part until she felt the slight approval and amusement from Thranduil that she hoped signaled an opening. Rushing him in a desperate display, he gave ground as she knew he would in an attempt to keep from hurting her, so she threw herself recklessly against his sword, crying out in pain as the sharp blade sliced into her arm and upper torso. Dropping her sword, she whirled around, crouching down and curling in on herself in a protective move.
"Elizabeth?"
She called on all her acting skills and whimpered in a pitiful, choked voice, remembering the pain of her very worst wounds she had ever sustained and pushed it into the bond. Cradling her arm she heard him fling his sword away angrily and step closer.
Three….two….one…
Launching herself backwards, she caught his legs and pulled, throwing her weight against the backs of his knees and found herself rolling across the ground and trying to avoid the pinning hold of his arms as they grappled.
In split second desperation, she remembered an additional, secret weapon, and reached out to his only ticklish spot under his left arm while simultaneously pulling her dagger from her boot. When his arm jerked in reaction, she ended sprawled on top of him while straddling his chest with her dagger held just shy of resting against his throat.
Shoving wayward strands of her hair back from her eyes, she grinned down into the intensity of his bright gaze and tilted her head. "Since you wanted me on top, doesn't this mean we both win?"
He stared at her for a long moment, the gleam of approval in his eyes growing to full amusement, until he rested his head back against the ground and laughed, making her smile widen before she realized their positions with all the eyes on them and stood hastily.
He got to his feet and reached a hand out to where his sword had cut her, and her clothing was freshly stained with blood and gave her a long, cryptic look.
"Since I did not specify that your surprise tactics should not include bodily injury, I suppose I cannot berate you for it, as much as I wish to." He drew a breath, looking at her thoughtfully. "You achieved victory, regardless of how it was accomplished, and your deceptions to lure me in through the bond were a masterful stroke, even using my own emotional response against me. Such quick thinking in the midst of battle and an intuitive ability to discover your foe's weaknesses can be quite valuable."
Elizabeth bent to pick up her sword, smiling at his praise and amused to see how many other elves watched them while attempting to appear otherwise. She stepped close to him.
"I believe we have given everyone quite a show. I suppose it isn't every day they get to see their king and queen rolling about in the dirt with one another." She laughed. "Or me sitting on top of you."
He turned his gaze across the training grounds, one side of his mouth lifting in a slight smirk. "Hmm, perhaps it will inspire even greater devotion to you, after witnessing the manner in which you conquered me."
She snorted. "What? Through trickery and deceit? I hardly think that worthy of admiration."
Thranduil retrieved his sword then returned to stand beside her. "You take a negative view. It requires cleverness and cunning to deceive me, and the fact that you did it successfully further proves you my equal and a worthy queen to rule beside me."
Sheathing her sword, she fought to control her smile. "If you keep praising me, you will turn me into a vain, conceited queen."
He laughed softly. "That will never happen, as it is against your very nature. You have never seen nor acknowledged even half of your many gifts, Elizabeth."
Her breath quickened when she looked up and met his gaze, her heart reflected in her eyes. "How can I see anything but you? The sight of your glory has ever blinded me to all else."
He sheathed his sword with a sharp click, the bond flaring markedly between them. "Go," he murmured, "before I am tempted to carry you off myself. No more lessons in warfare today. I shall meet you shortly."
As she moved away, he refrained from following her with his eyes, instead watching the other curious gazes that did. There were definitely more than a few looks of admiration and respect. He would never let her know that he had slowed his responses just enough to allow her victory at the very end of their tussle. The sight of her smile and the spike in her confidence had been well worth the calculated risk. In truth, he was wholly impressed at just how very near she had come to completely defeating him. Any who dared to underestimate her would fall victim to their own folly.
Master.
There was something curious about her reaction when he spoke the English word. He was looking forward to finding out exactly why.
With a final glance across the training yards, the Elvenking departed in pursuit of his queen.
Lyrics to Destined by Karliene