Susan looked around to see if Gladien, the guard, was there. Unfortunately, he was not. So. She opted for searching help from the replaced elves who did not know who she was.
"I'm Queen Susan of Narnia, I am expected,"she said, hoping this would work.
The guards looked at each other, nodded and one of them pushed open the heavy wooden entrance and went in. He did not say a thing to her the whole time so she decided to follow him. They were passing in and out of caves when she caught sight of a familiar silhouette, it was Legolas.
"Excuse me,"she said suddenly and it caught the guard's attention, "I think it will be fine. I will find my way to the hall."
Once again, the guard did not say much nor did he question her decision, he simply made a slight bow and left the scene. Susan waited for the elf to retreat and approached the blonde prince who had already noticed her presence.
"Are you going to the hall?"he asked, admiring how the girl managed to pull such a simple dress off, keeping her posture elegant and graceful. She nodded and he offered his hand, which she held without hesitance and he guided her to the hall, all the while pointing at different paths and routes and describing their functions to the guest.
They reached the tall yet narrow door of the feasting hall and Legolas, as everyone did, knocked at it and waited for a reply.
"What's the meaning of this?"Susan whispered.
Legolas brows raised out of doubt, so she rephrased her question, "Why do you have to wait for a reply?"
"Oh! That's because it is an elf tradition that one should never invite oneself into a room without the other's consent. So, if the other side never knocks back, we will have to stand here or leave."As soon as he answered, someone rapped on the door from the opposite side. With much strength but slight effort, the prince opened the door and led her in. They bowed and curtsied at Thranduil who was already present, waiting for their arrival to get the meal started.
"It's lovely to have you back, I trust that last night's event did not leave your head with much pain?"He enquired Susan with a half smile on his face.
She grinned embarrassedly as if she were caught red-handed but she did admire the elven King's light sense of humor. The couple sat at each side as they did the previous night and dug into their meal of oatmeal, ripped berries and fried eggs.
"I hope you are being treated with care and hospitality,"The king said.
"But of course. Luthien is keen to provide me with all I will need and everyone here is very nice and civilized."she answered sincerely.
"You mean Luthien, one of our first female fighters? She has quite the strong personality and is very keen on helping others around her. Not to mention that she is one of the finest female archers we have around in Mirkwood,"The green-eyed elf said wisely, "I hear that you are a very good marksmen as well, is that right?"
Her cheeks flushed at the question but managed to hide it and answered humbly, "It is very kind of you to suggest that, my Lord. I do know how to handle the bow and arrow but my techniques and posture still have room for improvement and will require polishing."
Luthien made a grin that the girl could not get the meaning of, it seemed to be of assurance but there was also the element of something she could not put her finger on, was it satisfaction? She really had no clue. So she made a mental shrug and decided to forget it. Legolas, meanwhile, was amazed at how remarkably Susan managed to "tackle"Thranduil with such ease, it took him 500 years to master the art of it and she just did it on a whim.
The breakfast ended with the elven king inviting Susan to a huge forest feast that very night. She excused herself to meet Luthien as she had promised beforehand.
"This will be a good time for us to talk,"Thranduil said solemnly to his son as soon as Susan left.
Legolas nodded obediently and waited for his father to speak up.
"Considering my age and encounters, I have to say that I am a good judge of character no matter when it comes to elves, humans, hobbits and now that I've abandoned my prejudice towards them, dwarves too. I've been evaluating Queen Susan for these past two meals,"there was a slight pause as if to build the tension and he succeeded for the younger elf was on the edge of a heart attack if his father was not going to get to his point quicker.
"She is of course one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever encountered in my life, other than your mother, of course, and I consider her to have a very charming and endearing character. She is graceful, elegant, poised, sociable, humble, friendly and of many other virtues. But the most prominent feature she possesses are those icy-blue eyes, they seemed to tell a never-ending story of hurt, yet, I can see it healing and I can guess the reason behind it,"he continued calmly with a knowing smile.
"I understand you had no intentions of making anyone your other half before this, due to the lack of such a need and no one in particular showed up, but are you intending to change your mind about it?"Thranduil hinted his intention very subtly.
"I do favor her quite a lot but I do not hope to rush things over with. However, you do approve of her, right?"Legolas asked.
"Of course, she will make the perfect partner for you. By the way, I'll have to see her in action some time, she has been too humble with herself, I am sure she must be very good."
"She's definitely the best of the best, wait till you see her aim and shoot, precise and quick. If she had had possessed elven strength and stamina, she will really surpass any of us."Legolas commented sincerely. He was really glad that Susan had pleased his father so.
Quite a short chapter but hope you do not mind! Chapter will be updated by tomorrow as usual! Feel free to review and let me know how you think of it so far! I'll be sure to reply!
