Chapter 36 ended with:
"I do not have a choice now. I do not think Saruman believed you when you said I do not care if people know. I do," he admitted. "I would prefer for this to remain the best kept secret in Middle Earth."
"I will see what I can do," she promised, caressing his face, still marveling at the normal feel of his fake skin.
Chapter 37 - Amber
Valerie had shared Thranduil's story with Mithrandir and Galadriel. The wizard had left them a few minutes before, shocked to hear that Saruman had been escorted to the borders and determined to discuss this with the king.
Once he was out of the room, Galadriel turned to Valerie.
"Can I share this information with Celeborn and Elrond?"
"My mate is not ready at the moment for his secret to spread like wildfire all over Middle Earth. He does not want to be identified as a monster, and be treated as such by everyone."
"Of course not!"
"However, you can share our suspicions about Saruman. Even if you are not believing me, please remain on your guard. Question him more, try to understand his motives before agreeing with anything he is proposing."
"I will," Galadriel promised, although Valerie could sense that the Lady of Light was a bit bothered by the fact that one so young and newly arrived in Middle Earth was giving her advice. She knew it would take time before the elven leaders truly considered her one of them. For now, to them she only was Thranduil's wife and she was being treated as such.
A wail at the other end of the apartment saved them from an uncomfortable silence. By now, Valerie could differentiate Amber's cries from Arnor's. This was how they had temporarily named their infant daughter, referring to her beautiful yet strange amber eyes. Shortly after, there was a discreet knock on the door.
"Your Majesty, Amber seems to be hungry, do you want me to give her some goat milk until you are available, or do you want to nurse her now?"
"You can bring her to me, Miniel. Is Arnor awake?"
"Unfortunately, he was awaken by his sister."
"Bring them both, I will feed them before Mithrandir comes back."
Galadriel just observed as the governess brought back the children, reliving memories of Celebrian feeding her twin sons together, at the same time. She was very curious to see the elflings but kept her interest in check until the queen was ready to share them. She watched as Valerie held one infant to each of her breasts, their hungry little mouths suckling with appetite. She could see their miniscule hands touching as if they were holding hands.
Valerie still was not an expert mother, but with the help of Miniel, the feeding was done rapidly and the children needed to be burped.
"Please allow me," Galadriel almost begged. "I have not seen an elfling in so long."
Valerie and Miniel exchanged a glance, and the governess gave Arnor to the Lady of Light, who took him eagerly. If she was disappointed not to be holding the prophecy child, she did not show it. Miniel gave her a towel, and Lady Galadriel started rubbing the back of Valerie's son like she had done this just yesterday.
Miniel took care of Amber while Valerie was adjusting her gown. When Mithrandir entered the room with Ninaelil, wearing brand new grey robes, he sat beside Galadriel and watched the elfling with interest.
"I can see why you have no doubt that he is your blood son," the wizard commented as he and Galadriel were watching the red hair of the infant.
Valerie observed them as they cooed above Arnor, his little arms trying to catch Galadriel's locks and Mithrandir's beard. They enjoyed him for a few minutes, until they turned to Valerie and the daughter she was holding in her arms.
"If I did not know you better, I would think that you do not want to introduce your daughter to us."
"You do not know me well then. This is exactly what I am thinking. I am not certain that I want to know who she is. I do not want her real parents to come and take her away from me."
"Her parents are not in Middle Earth. Otherwise, she would have been born to them again," Lady Galadriel reassured her.
"Then she may have family here, or people who know her."
"Valerie," Mithrandir said with his most formal tone, "I swear to you that no one will ever take your children away from you. I suggest that we first figure out who she is. And if we feel her identity cannot be revealed at the moment, we will simply not reveal it. Does that sound fair to you?"
"It is fair," a new, cold voice, replied to the wizard's question. Everyone looked as Thranduil entered the room. The king sat beside his wife, kissed her hand respectfully yet with contained passion, and took his daughter in his arms.
The guests stared at his perfect face, still amazed that this was only an illusion. He ignored them while he rocked his daughter with a tender expression on his face.
"My dear," he told Valerie, "we need to know who she is. Ignorance is not always bliss. We need to understand what kind of threats she could face, know if she has a mate still in Middle Earth, and help her when she starts having memories of her previous life. We need to know all that to ensure that her childhood will be pleasant, and that it makes up for the tragedies of her previous life."
"Who says her previous life was tragic?" Valerie inquired.
"We elves do not die, my love," he reminded her. "She did not lose her life in sickness or in a peaceful manner. There was violence at some point, she found herself defenseless in front of foes and went to the Halls of Mandos because her family was not there for her..."
Valerie seemed to think about it for a few moments. "Alright, let us do this." She took her daughter from Thranduil's arms and held her against her chest for a while, observing her beautiful little face and her peculiar amber eyes.
"Are you ready to know who you are, Amber?" she whispered to the child.
Lady Galadriel gave Arnor to Mithrandir, and opened her arms to take the infant. "I have not seen her in my mirror before I left for Lothlorien. But if I met her in the past, I will recognize her fëa. Otherwise, I can always try to see if I can find some hidden memories in her soul, memories that can give us clues."
Valerie finally found enough courage, and delicately put her daughter in Galadriel's arms.
"I would recognize those eyes even if an eternity had passed since I had met her!" she exclaimed. "I had doubts when you said she had amber eyes, but I wanted to be absolutely sure."
"Who is she?" the Elvenking asked.
"Finduilas."
Valerie saw Thranduil cringe for an instant, before his face became neutral again.
"Who is Finduilas?" she asked him. "I do not recall ever seeing her name in a book."
"She is the sister of one of my enemies, Ereinion Gil-galad, High King of the Noldor," he said carefully.
"She is not our enemy," Valerie cried, grabbing his hand violently.
"No, she is not. She cannot be blamed for the faults of her brother."
Galadriel and Mithrandir diplomatically did not say anything. History was interpreted differently by each realm. Outside of Greenwood, people tended to think that Gil-galad had been a good king, and that Thranduil's father, Oropher, had been the problematic ruler at the time.
"Is she married? Does she have family in Middle Earth?"
"She does have family here," Galadriel answered. "She is my great-niece, the daughter of my nephew Orodreth. However, I have no intention of requesting to raise her myself. You are quite safe in that regard. She is yours, although I would like to see her once in a while, if you will allow it."
Valerie nodded in acceptance, although she was watching the Lady of Light with weariness.
"She was betrothed but never got married," Thranduil added to change the subject. "She is the only elleth who has fallen in love with two ellyn. In the end, she never married either of them."
"What happened to her? How did she die?"
"She was abducted by orcs, taken captive. Later on, the beasts decided to kill all the captives they had taken. They nailed her to a tree with a spear. Her body was found days later."
Valerie cried and stood in an instant. "Give me my daughter!" she requested with ferocity. Galadriel opened her arms and the queen took her daughter, running away from the room, Ninaelil and Miniel following her.
"You could have been less cruel," Mithrandir commented.
"This world is cruel. My mate needs to know what her children will face, or what they faced in the past. She will get over it. She is now able to cope with the darkness of this world."
"Did you truly have to share your darkness with her?" Galadriel asked.
"Do I hear a judgment in your question?"
"Her soul is no longer pure," Mithrandir said. "This was never part of the agreement we had. You promised to take care of her. I trusted you!"
"I promised that I would make her my bonded-mate. We share one fëa now."
"If I had known, I would have encouraged her to bond with Glorfindel."
Thranduil's expressions became murderous. "Watch your tongue! I may have been damaged by dragon fire, but you will give me credit for not acting upon this evil. If I had, you would all be bending under my rule, and believe me, if you think my words just now were cruel, you would now know what the true meaning of cruelty is."
"Please give us some time to get used to the revelations. Mithrandir and I will retire now. We will meet you for dinner?"
"Yes," the Elvenking said, taking his son from the wizard's arms. "If you cannot handle the truth, please leave my realm. Valerie and our children are not in danger. I can take care of my family. I do not need your help."
"I know that," the wizard sighed. "Despite all this, Valerie has bloomed under your care. Do you love her?"
"She is part of me, Mithrandir. Of course I do."
"Then I want to help you. She is still very dear to me. Like a daughter."
"I am certain we can find common ground to build on."
A/N: there will be a 2 years time jump in the next chapter…
AHealingRenaissance: I will follow canon on this, so Saruman will be waiting for the right time before he reveals his true nature to all.
Riddicks-gurl1988: they are such a passionate couple!
Princessnera: he will try to remain discreet at the moment, especially when knowing that Mithrandir doesn't really trust Valerie's word about him.
W: it probably helped that she shares some of Thranduil's darkness!
Aralinn: they will be on their guard, but they find it difficult to believe… As per canon, it will take some more years before Saruman shows his true allegiance…
thrndlwood: Thanks!
Lyryenn: this chapter was a little longer, so much to reveal – did you love the identity of the elleth?
Stubs1101: for now, the elflings are helping the social interactions between Valerie and Galadriel. It may develop into something more with time… once Valerie's credibility in Middle Earth rises.
ObiLucius: and he will not improve with time! But soon, people will realize who he truly is...