In the middle of the dining hall there was a long table; on one end of the table, there were dishes to serve myriads of people; on the other, long rows of wine bottles waiting to be consumed. Many of smaller tables surrounding the feast - two candles side by side on each table. Huge bouquets were everywhere, giving a festive atmosphere to the occasion.
Only one table was occupied, though, and at it sat King Thranduil and Chief Marchwardens Gwennor and Hwinnor in intense discussion.
The conversation stopped abruptly as the door opened, and two elves entered.
All three rose and turned to look at the couple at the door, who at first glance seemed content and happy. No one who did not know them would believe even for one moment one of them would be leaving to Shadowland tomorrow.
These three did know the couple - and they recognized the sorrow behind the facade. None of them mentioned any of it.
As King Thranduil waited for the couple to enter the dining hall, he glanced at the view through a window; a beautiful lake scenery with the last remnants of the sunset reddening the sky - and warming his heart.
The incoming elves shut the door behind them. What took the King's attention - and ripped all warmth away - was the view on the other side of the room. In a dark corner, a solitary bottle of red wine stood on a table. By the bottle lay the removed cork, the corkscrew still stabbing it; a few droplets of crimson wine stains surrounded it, ruining the tablecloth. A painful reminder of a severed head placed on a spear, erected on the ground to desecrate its former owner.
And everyone who meant anything to her.
"We here have been waiting for your arrival for quite a long while now," Thranduil said, sharply lifting his head, trying to banish the torturous memory out of his mind. "You came in, and we dared to hope you would honour us with your presence soon, but alas no, that did not happen. Instead, you were upstairs for so long one might believe-"
He took a few steps closer to Sulrochil and Legolas - and a few steps away from the upsetting images.
"-that your quivers were sewn on your backs, making it a thoroughly arduous task to remove the stitches. And taking the quivers off-"
Thranduil loomed over Sulrochil, who was biting her tongue, totally oblivious of the inner fight in the King's mind.
"-obviously was so amusing, you made the entire town hear it. But, please forgive me, this is Lake-town, so we can safely assume the deaf people over there heard nothing." He waved his hand around in the general direction of everywhere else but them.
Three millennia's worth of inner fighting that one cannot win.
"Sulrochil," the King continued, taking one step further from Sulrochil, "please, tell me why the young man, who brought you the letter earlier, was horror-struck when he scurried back to Lake-town?"
"That boy," Sulrochil said, lifting her gaze to Thranduil, "should be happy to have his head intact and not pierced by an arrow from your son's bow."
"He must have done an excruciatingly disgraceful deed to be treated like that," Thranduil replied. "Please, tell me at once what it was, and I will send someone to finish what the all too lenient son of mine did not manage to do." He turned to look at Legolas. "It is your betrothal day - if you need me to remind you about it - you should have ended the life of the man who did something dishonourable to your betrothed."
"No," Sulrochil said. "The man did not do anything dishonourable. I am afraid he had no time for that. He did not say anything humiliating to me, he did not touch me, or not even stare - he only had time to briefly cast his eye over me, before he got an arrow aimed at his nose."
"He was foolish enough to do that, even though those two over there," Legolas said nodding at Hwinnor and Gwennor, "had warned him not to do it."
"Legolas," Sulrochil sighed. "Did it ever occur to you the poor boy had to at least glance at me to recognize there were two elves in front of him?"
"He could have asked me if I was alone," Legolas said in all seriousness before turning to look at Sulrochil very much in love.
"Of course," she replied, flashing a delightful smile for him.
"Congratulations on your betrothal, Legolas and Sulrochil," Thranduil said cordially and bowed for them.
Also, Gwennor and Hwinnor came closer to give their congratulations. "So, you two really got betrothed at last."
"Finally, indeed," Thranduil said. "Now it is time to celebrate. I do not trust the beverages of this town, so I brought wine for tonight from Mirkwood."
"Not any wine for Legolas," Sulrochil exclaimed, "before he has eaten something."
"I see," Thranduil smiled. "And are you not going to eat at all?"
"I would eat," Sulrochil said resignedly. "But tomorrow I leave for a mission to observe orcs -"
"Who have a keen sense of smell," Legolas said sharply, turned around and walked to the side table to fetch food for himself.
"Please forgive me, Sulrochil," Thranduil said. "I should have considered that by myself."
"Please, do not worry," she replied. "Neither Legolas realized it before he began fussing over what I should eat there."
"I do not fuss," Legolas said, with a bowl of stew on his hands.
"You do," Gwennor and Hwinnor said at the same time casting a glance at each other which made them both grin.
Slowly the smiles faded, as Legolas turned his back to everyone else and sat down, not saying anything.
Legolas' fury was flaming inside Sulrochil, and she sat beside him, pressing her face against his shoulder and draping her arm around his back. There existed no words for her to say; all she could do was sit close to his stiff body, letting her love try to wash the anger away.
All three other elves watched the newly bonded couple, worried; with the new bond they were meant only to be together and feel their love, filling them with warmth and closeness. To be forced to separate right after their bonding was disgraceful, but all three of them knew these two would not give up now.
It was apparent that the whole situation was more difficult for Legolas. In any case, he would have a hard time to be the one left behind - to see her walk away to the unknown and be unable to do anything would be agonizing for him. Now - after their bonding - the magnitude of the problem grew thousandfold, for right now all of him craved giving love and shelter for his loved one.
It was crystal clear for Thranduil what Legolas needed to do to help his betrothed to survive out there performing her mission - to bear both of their agonizing longing. Legolas was determined and able to do it, so that did not worry Thranduil at all.
Surviving the evilness of the orcs for a prolonged time was a different matter, though, but sometimes the smallest things could be of assistance in great matters. Many tales had been spun about rings in this world; perhaps one more could fit in.
The ring on Sulrochil's finger reminded Thranduil of the day when he had given it to his wife. She had gently held the baby when he had slid the ring on her finger. Her smile had lightened the room as her eyes bore to the golden ring. "It is lovely," she had said.
She. In his mind, she was always she. After that day, he had not allowed her true name to enter his mind. For three millennia the name had been buried somewhere deep in his soul, and now it wanted to surface.
Soon. Perhaps soon, it could be possible.
For six years she had worn the ring - until that day. The tragic image was imprinted on his soul, haunting him every moment. With wavering steps, Thranduil had gathered all the pieces of her together, trying to make everything whole again, but nothing could bring her back. Softly, he had covered everything with his cloak - and collapsed by his wife to kiss her goodbye.
The light inside him died with the kiss. The life ended - the sort of life when you are alive - leaving him to lead the life of dead people.
He pulled the ring from her bloody finger before anyone could see it, and hid the ring in his pocket. Then he stood up, froze his mind and concentrated all his willpower to find Legolas. When he finally had the little motherless boy on his lap, he promised never to leave him.
The ring was here now, and this was supposed to be the happiest day of Thranduil's life since then. And it was the most joyous, but also the most depressing. These two should not be separated now, but he knew Legolas - he was just like his mother! Never listening to anyone! For a moment Thranduil had considered preventing Mithrandir from ordering Sulrochil to go on this mission, but realized that in the end, it would have been futile. At the very moment Legolas would have heard about the need to send someone, he himself would have insisted that Sulrochil should be assigned there.
And the lady in question was even worse! But to each their own.
Nevertheless, the King knew that his decision to give the ring to Legolas' mother made almost three millennia ago, would be fruitful now. There was nothing they could do to alleviate the evil feeling raised by the wickedness of the orcs in Sulrochil's soul when she would be doing her surveillance in Shadowland - except a little magical trick.
The wizard had already told the King he did not possess that kind of magic - if he did, he would have used it ages ago to aid the elves. But magic they would use, nevertheless.
A magical ring. The Ring of the Third. Does that sound eloquent enough?
Perhaps it was not the sort of magic that a wizard could conjure, but the kind fathers do - an innocent little trick to help her in an almost impossible deed. To survive the evil feeling, required mostly deep concentration of one's mind and ability to master one's emotions - and these attributes were not the forte of his soon to be daughter-in-law.
To remove the responsibility from her and give it to an inanimate object, could be what they needed now.
The details of the tale of The Ring of the Third were sprouting in his mind. Tomorrow, all Mithrandir should do is to use all his powers to embellish the story so Sulrochil would take it in her heart.
For Legolas, the King would tell the story - or actually a different tale because his trouble was different - when the sorrow would hit him hardest on the night, to give even little solace in his turmoil.
What worried King Thranduil most, was that there would be nothing of interest for Sulrochil to see in Shadowland. Mithrandir had told her she should not interfere in anything, but why send a skilled archer and not use her?
What advantage would they gain with all the information she would bring, if there remained massive herds of orcs led by an able leader who still carried his head above his shoulders? Sulrochil could bring all the needed information - and while she was at it, end the life of the leader. That would be the thing the elves required now, but saying that aloud now when Legolas was within hearing range would be same as forbidding her from going at all.
Tonight, King Thranduil would find out if the chosen lady of his son would be the one to bring them the trump card in the game. To ask that from her discreetly was going to be an interesting challenge for the King.
The King watched the backs of Sulrochil and Legolas and almost felt the inner battle which raged inside Legolas.
Not long after, Legolas' rigidness eased and he put his arm around Sulrochil, leaning his face into her hair. Feeling his inner turbulence ebb, Legolas inhaled her scent, which seemed again to oddly be of spruce, even though she had not been even close to them today. He slid his hand on Sulrochil's neck under her hair whispering to her ear, "I will kiss you now because they all want to see it, but they would never ask for it."
"So, is this only for the show?"
"Of course." His kiss was meant to be a chaste one, but when she also put her hand similarly on his neck, it made him forget the others were watching, and all his agony poured into the kiss making it full of fire. All of the suppressed emotions exploded as the elves pulled closer to each other until the sudden realization of the presence of other people in the same room made them stop abruptly. For a while, they just gaped at each other trying to settle their heavy breathing discreetly so the bystanders would not notice it, only to realize nothing would go unnoticed, and it made them both grin widely.
"Father," Legolas smiled, still looking deeply at Sulrochil. "Where is the bottle of wine? I guess I ate enough so Sulrochil might let me drink it now."
"Aye. This is empty," Sulrochil said, peeking into the bowl, "so you shall have my permission to pour the wine."
"It is a mystery how you are able to do this, but we all understand why you are doing it," Thranduil said, walking swiftly towards the table and sat in front of Legolas.
"The same sentence could be said to you too," Legolas said. "How have you been able to live in this world alone for almost three millennia, if you are feeling anything like this?"
Everyone paused for a moment. The whole world stilled, the unknown flashed, making the atmosphere eerie. The shadows danced on the walls - not a sound was heard.
All four younger elves turned to look at King Thranduil, not knowing what to expect.
"Each has their destiny," Thranduil said slowly. "This is mine. I will not say it has been easy, but I have had my reasons. Perhaps the time has come, when I will talk about this with you, Legolas, but not today. Tonight I would like us to celebrate the betrothal of my son, regardless of everything."
"Before that," Legolas said rising and nudging Sulrochil to do the same. "There is one thing we must do."
Sulrochil glanced at him, realizing what he was going to do. Together, they walked to stand before the fresh pair of Chief Marchwardens who was by the side table getting the wine bottle and goblets. "Chief Marchwardens Hwinnor and Gwennor," Legolas said. "We are here to give our resignation from the Marchwardens of Mirkwood."
"Legolas and Sulrochil," Hwinnor said. "Your betrothal or Sulrochil's mission, are not suitable reasons to resign. You may have time off, but not quit."
"We do have a suitable reason," Legolas said. "I cannot continue in Marchwardens because the King needs me back in the army."
Gwennor and Hwinnor looked at each other, then the King, Legolas and Sulrochil, in turn, trying to guess what discussions have been taken place and by whom, but since this was a proper reason they had no choice but to accept it.
"Sulrochil," Gwennor said. "Do you accept this?"
"Chief Marchwardens Gwennor and Hwinnor, I accept this," she said.
"Sulrochil and Legolas," Hwinnor said. "We accept your resignation."
"As of now," Gwennor said. "You are free from your duties in the Marchwardens, and we thank you for your accomplishments."
"I believe there is need for me in the army, but the question is," Legolas said to his father when he had sat again by the table, "whether you still accept me back after being away for so long."
"You are welcome back," the King said.
"Who has taken my position?" Legolas asked when they all were gathered by the table.
"Chief Marchwarden Filvendor," the King said.
"What do you mean?" Legolas asked.
"I needed someone who can oppose me. I would not have accepted that from anyone below you, so Filvendor was the obvious choice. He knows… knew much about the situation in our kingdom, but was an outsider."
"You never took my opinions seriously," Legolas said. "Instead, you always did the opposite of what I wanted."
"Perhaps, but I always listened to your opinion, and I needed them to remind me that there are two sides to each situation."
"What is the situation now?" Legolas asked. "Can we truly handle another war?"
"This will be the last of the wars, and we can do it, even though the situation is tight and the troops are diminishing. Sixty years ago, I was left with 18 captains, and mind you, before the Battle of the Five Armies there had been 50. Three of those captains have sailed afterwards; at the same time, I have gained one. It is always like that - everyone is so impossibly loyal to their groups, and nobody wants to be promoted. The amount of soldiers has diminished rapidly, as well."
"Now the situation is even tighter, after the Battle of Mirkwood last month," Gwennor said.
"It will be catastrophic after the forthcoming attack on Shadowland," the King said.
"Why did you never ask me back?" Legolas asked.
"There are many reasons, but to put the long story short - I wanted you to make your own choices."
"You never told me how tight the situation was."
"I could not do that because you had changed so drastically after the time you spent with the Dunedain in the north. You could never have continued leading the army in a way I asked you to do it. For a moment, I considered whether I should sail away and leave our kingdom for you, but I could not do that."
"Why?"
"In a normal situation, I would have done it, but not when there was no future for the elves. I could not have left you leading a doomed kingdom without a possibility to get it to grow. I knew I had to be one to lead Mirkwood to its end - which is not far away. And that is why I wanted you to go to the Marchwardens."
"You wanted it?"
"I knew you could not live without doing something, and since I could not ask you back to the army, I asked if Filvendor could recruit new people to the Marchwardens."
"But I heard there was a need for someone with good hiding skills," Sulrochil said. "Was it a false rumour?"
"No, that was not false," Gwennor said. "We indeed needed someone like you."
"And now we already lost you," Hwinnor said. "What are you going to do after you get back from your mission?"
"I have no idea," Sulrochil said. "I suppose I can think about it after I get back."
"I will tell you what will happen after you get back," Thranduil said. "There will be the final attack on orcs of Shadowland and, according to Mithrandir, that is when all orcs will be demolished from Middle-earth. This means the Time of the Elves truly ends. It also will mean again too many deaths of elves and - within this company, I can reveal it - our armed forces cannot properly defend our kingdom. Therefore, we must begin to put an end to our kingdom. We must begin planning to sail to the Undying Lands."
"But we are not ready for sailing," Legolas said horrified.
"When I said 'we' I did not mean everyone. I meant my generation who have lived long and are more than ready to sail. You young people can do whatever you want, but not in Mirkwood. Your wedding shall take place in a year, and after that, I will sail, and everyone who wishes can come with me. Your wedding shall be the last celebration in Mirkwood, for after that our kingdom dissipates."
"But our wedding cannot be a day of wistful reminiscence and farewells!" Sulrochil exclaimed. "Everyone only waiting for the moment when they can be out of here! I want that day to be a celebration of love and joy."
"Of course it will be a day of joy," Thranduil said. "It will be a day of love. Your wedding will be the culmination of elven love, the culmination of being an elf. We will celebrate all those many millennia in which we have been living in Middle-earth and reminisce about all the great things we have had in this world, all the wisdom we have acquired, and all the friends we have gained.
"Your wedding day will be only of joyous celebration. Everyone can see your love, feel your love and celebrate your love but also they can celebrate the upcoming reunion with their loved ones who are already in Valinor. Everyone can let ourselves truly feel the love for everyone who already is there. We can immerse ourselves with love because we know we shall meet them soon again."
"But will you announce you will sail before our wedding?" Sulrochil said.
"Aye," Thranduil replied. "I will do it because everyone should have enough time to prepare for the end of our kingdom. Ending an entire kingdom will take time. And you two need to decide what you are going to do, where you will go and announce it early, so everyone can decide if they are going to sail with me or follow you."
"I have no idea what we should do," Legolas said.
"The forests of Ithilien close to Minas Tirith were inviting," Sulrochil said.
"Wherever you decide to go, you will need people to keep your forest safe," Hwinnor said.
"And that would be us," Gwennor said, looking at Hwinnor, who nodded.
"You two will definitely be needed, but we will also need people with many kinds of other skills," Legolas said.
"There is no need to decide anything tonight, for there are many things to be considered," the King said.
"Which date is today?" Legolas asked.
"The 16th of May."
"So, the 16th of May next year will be our wedding day," Legolas said, turning to look at Sulrochil fondly. "How does that sound?"
"It sounds like the bottle of wine should be finally consumed, and we should celebrate, but why are there only four goblets?" Sulrochil said. "I might not drink much, but I would like to have at least some."
"Because you two have to share," Gwennor smiled and put one goblet between Legolas and Sulrochil and began pouring wine on all goblets.
"Oh," Sulrochil gasped and looked the red wine flowing into the goblet between her and Legolas. Cautiously, she put her hand around the stem. Legolas draped his hand around hers. Love flowed between them and - like the wine - it was no longer possible to separate which portion belonged to whom.
Perhaps the mood of this event could change for the better, she thought, when his palm squeezed tighter around her hand.
"For Legolas and Sulrochil," Thranduil said, raising his goblet to a toast. All four goblets joined above the table. "This is the moment of celebration. Tonight, we shall concentrate on lighter matters, only on happy memories. Like every couple at every betrothal celebration, please tell us now how you finally found out this is love between you two."
One of the goblets clanked back on the table. Two smiles died; two heads fell, confusing the three others.
"Father," Legolas said quietly. "There was nothing light about finding our love. I am not sure if I can bear to tell you about it tonight."
"If you let me," Sulrochil said, caressing Legolas' hand. "I can tell them about it, for I believe they need to know what happened."
Legolas nodded.
"We cannot be sure when our love actually formed, but Legolas felt it in Minas Tirith," Sulrochil began her story. "I denied it for many days after that because I could not understand it. I mean, I did not feel it properly, and I was confused. Afterwards, I have realized what had been going on, but not at the time. We began our travel towards Mirkwood, and in Lothlorien, we had a significant disagreement. No, it was a misunderstanding. No, a horrendous conflict. I am not sure what it was, but we did not talk. I mean, I did not speak to Legolas, and I refused to have anything to do with him because I misunderstood some things.
"I am telling all this wrong because it was so complicated and disturbing. Please, try to bear with me. A few days after Lothlorien something happened, and I finally felt our love properly in my soul and went to talk to Legolas, but I did not admit my love for him then. The next day before we had time to talk, there was the attack on which Thannor was killed. During the battle, my horse got shot and ran to the river with me. I floated a long time with her by the river. Before I got back to the others, Legolas had believed I was killed."
"I had a vision about Sulrochil's death, which seemed real," Legolas said. "I mourned for her death for quite a long time, and…" He could not end his sentence and only stared at the goblet on the table.
"You believed she was dead," Thranduil whispered. "And mourned for her. I have seen the shadows of your suffering in your eyes after your arrival, but could not comprehend the reason for it. How can you ever survive her departure tomorrow?"
"It is not going to be easy," Legolas said, lifting his eyes at his father. "But it has to be done. This is my destiny."
For a while, father and son looked at each other. Legolas let his father see all of his anguish and at realizing how horrendously Legolas would suffer after tomorrow. Thranduil was frightened.
"I will get Mithrandir here," the King said and stood up. "And cancel this mission at once."
The men should deal with those orcs themselves, Thranduil would not let his son suffer horribly over this foolish mission, which would probably end in disaster anyway. Without this incident, Legolas could have easily handled all of the combined distress of them both and more, but with wounds of her assumed death - it could be too much.
"You will do no such thing," Sulrochil said, also rising and took a couple of steps closer to her future father-in-law, glaring at him furiously. "Should you drag Mithrandir here tonight it would only lead to you getting angry at him. Legolas would get furious both at him and you. I would explode at everyone, including those Chiefs over there who have nothing to do with this. In the end, nothing would change; we all would be miserable, but tomorrow I would leave for my mission, nevertheless."
Solemnly Thranduil listened to her lecture and watched the look in her eyes which was so familiar to him - although it was many millennia since he had seen it last time - in awe. It was a look of a family member. No one dared to look at her King with eyes shooting daggers, or, to be precise, no one could look at her King with eyes shooting daggers, but still do it with fondness. More than enough, he had heard all sorts of threats during his lifetime, but this affectionate tirade was something - he had to admit it now - he had been missing.
Which led to the intriguing question at which point this lady had developed a liking for him?
While it was never easy to be on the receiving end of that kind of gaze, he was pleased Sulrochil was not afraid to speak her mind to him. The worst fear of his about who Legolas would choose had always been, if she would not dare to open her mouth, only fawn over him and try to please everyone, but it seemed that fear had been premature. Legolas had chosen wisely - except most likely, he had not been the one choosing anything. It was always like that. And if the daring to open their mouths led to be forced to listen to their ceaseless lectures by the part of the male elves - so be it.
"Listen carefully," Sulrochil continued, "because I will tell you what will happen. Tomorrow at dawn, I will walk away with Mithrandir to my mission. Legolas will stay in Market Place and watch me leave. He will stay there until he no longer sees us, nor hears our steps. He will stay there until he no longer senses my location, and after that, you will go back to Mirkwood with him to prepare the army for war."
Legolas looked in turn at his betrothed and his father and recognized the determined expressions on both faces when they were staring at each other, not willing to give up. It was fascinating to see them and not be the one on the receiving end of the gaze - and it was clear who would be the one to relent.
"We can attack Shadowland no matter what," the King said.
"Perhaps in the old days we could have done that, but not now when there are not enough elves left in the army," Sulrochil said. "If I can come back with something that can give us the needed advantage, then my mission will be worth it."
You indeed need to return with something which can give us the needed advantage, the King pondered, but are you willing to do it? Do it, even though the not-to-be-named betrothed of yours would disapprove of it for sure?
During the Battle of Mirkwood a month ago this pocket-sized elf had shown her abilities and killed many orc leaders while hiding in the forest. Where had she been all these centuries when there had been a need for that skill in the army? Oh, she had been right there where almost everyone else with extraordinaire skills was - in the lowest level Archer unit being so miserably loyal to their groups so they would not even begin to listen to the talks of the recruiters for the higher levels. And before the recruiters got someone recruited for the higher level, they would not even hint about those skilled soldiers for their King. Therefore King Thranduil had not even heard about this lady before she became a Marchwarden thirty years ago - and when Chief Marchwarden Filvendor had flounced in the Halls of Thranduil to inform him that he had found a perfect partner for Legolas.
It had been Filvendor who had seen what she would be capable of - to hide and shoot so that no one even noticed it. This lady was deadly, and the King needed her to continue what she had begun in the Battle of Mirkwood, to kill the orc leaders. This time she needed to kill only one, the leader of Shadowland. That would be the only way to get even a tiny bit of an advantage.
As for how Legolas would manage the torment, the King only needed to try to guess how many days the son could bear the agony. Perhaps this could be done after all.
"You are not going to give up," Thranduil said to Sulrochil after a while.
"No, we are not going to give up," Sulrochil replied. "We have decided this together with Legolas, and we are not going to give up. We both believe this mission should be done by someone, by anyone, and I just happen to be the one with the needed skills for this task."
Thranduil realized that Sulrochil was not aware of what Legolas had to do to keep her safe. He glanced at Legolas and saw him nod with fully focused eyes. The King realized, what the father in him did not want to see, Legolas would do anything for his betrothed. Legolas would go through the most unimaginable torture to keep her safe while she was on a mission out there - and the father in Thranduil realized, he must help them both in any way he could.
"Fine," Thranduil said, turning away and taking a few steps towards the window. "I guess I could not expect less from either of you. There are some things, though, which should be taken into consideration, and the first is the fact that beginning to prepare our army to war and move the units closer to Shadowland could draw the interest of the orcs towards Lake-town and Mirkwood. Besides, they could put more patrol groups around Shadowland." He turned to look at Legolas. "And this would make it more likely that they would detect Sulrochil."
Legolas inhaled quickly, but before he had time to say anything Gwennor and Hwinnor glanced each other briefly and strode closer to the others.
"May we speak frankly?" Hwinnor said.
"Why else do you think you are here now?" King Thranduil said, moving his gaze towards the Chief Marchwardens.
"We need to arrange the funeral of Filvendor - " Gwennor began but was interrupted by Legolas.
"Of course, but is this the right time to be planning that?"
"Legolas," Hwinnor said. "The funeral of Chief Marchwarden Filvendor could indeed be the needed diversion. His funeral could be a huge ceremony with massive parades of army units, which naturally should only look like parades for the outsiders but in fact, could be assembling the needed army units."
"And since not the orcs, nor Lake-towners, can know our traditions, we could announce a mourning period for Filvendor, and it would be a perfect explanation as to why the betrothal of the Prince of Mirkwood would not be announced publicly. And since the betrothal would not be announced publicly, no one could suspect why Sulrochil would be missing from the funeral," Gwennor said.
"Because she could not be publicly by his side," Thranduil said contemplatively. "Your plan sounds good and will make it easy for us to gather our army units discreetly. It solved the second problem of how to keep the betrothal a secret until Sulrochil is back from her mission, but it does not solve the third problem which is when we begin to move our units closer to Shadowland, it will draw their attention on us."
"They will not like it when they see an army of the elves moving closer to them," Hwinnor said.
"That is an understatement," the King said in his thoughts. "What we need to do is to make an exact plan of how many days we will need for all the needed preparations, the funeral, gathering the units and moving the units close to Lake-town."
"The funeral can be the day after tomorrow," Gwennor replied.
"That is not enough for gathering the army units," the King replied, thinking how it would take perhaps four days to accomplish it, but that would be too much for Legolas. If the King ordered his captains to work all day and night, this could be done in two days. "We need two days for gathering the army units - I mean for the planning of grand parades for Chief Marchwarden Filvendor's funeral and the third day is the day of the funeral. On the fourth day we will move the units here," he turned to look at Sulrochil, "And that is when you must come back to Lake-town from Shadowland, regardless of what you have seen because we must attack Shadowland on the very next day we move the units here. It is the only way. The orcs naturally see us coming closer to them, but we cannot give them time to prepare for our attack."
"I promise to come back on the fourth day," Sulrochil said. "I can only hope I will find something of interest in time."
"Sulrochil," The King said, resuming his official voice and demeanour. "You are not a Marchwarden anymore and to be able to represent our kingdom on your mission officially, I need to ask you back to the army, if you would be willing to get back and get a promotion."
"Lord Thranduil, my King," Sulrochil said bowing to the King as she recognized this was an official request. "I am willing to get back to the army, but I am afraid I have to decline because I cannot be Legolas' subordinate. I will not get us ever again into a position in which he is forced to give orders to me."
"You would not be his subordinate," the King replied.
"How?"
"By our laws, his betrothed, and later his wife, will be his equal in the army."
"But I have been only an Archer before."
"It does not matter - you have been a soldier in our army. That is the requirement. You will be his equal. If you had had no army experience at all, the promotion would not have been possible."
Sulrochil only gaped at the King and could not say anything.
"Your accomplishments have been admirable," the King said, looking intensely at her eyes as if trying to convey his thoughts to her, "I would be honoured to have you back."
"Thank you, Lord Thranduil, my King, I accept the promotion," Sulrochil said, bowing again and was thinking the King possibly could not promote her right here tonight without a proper reason.
"You are wondering why I promoted you at this very moment. I did it so that you can go to your mission proudly, to feel you are an important part of our army and I hope it will make your mission successful," the King said still looking in her eyes. He could not remind her at this moment that accepting the promotion meant she would be free to make her own choices and any requests by the part of Mithrandir were obsolete.
"Like I said," The King said sternly. "Regardless of what you see, hear or find out, it is an urgent necessity that you come back by the fourth day because when we will begin moving our army units, it will draw the attention of orcs to us and we must attack Shadowland on the fifth day. That is why you must come back on the fourth day and tell us what you have found out."
"I have promised to come back on the fourth day, and I will come back exactly then," Sulrochil said, recognizing the protective tone of Thranduil. It was the same tone Legolas had when he was demanding that Sulrochil do what he says to keep her safe. What she missed was that King Thranduil's main target was not safeguarding Sulrochil, but her betrothed.
"You must tell us everything you see and hear, every little detail you remember. We will need something, anything, to give us the needed advantage. Understood?"
"Understood." Sulrochil blinked when she heard the switch in the tone - there was a demand in this tone also, but this tone did not demand caution. This tone required to act ruthlessly.
It had been easy for Sulrochil to recognize the same phrases the King had used during their very first encounter a month ago when she just had shot dead three orc leaders. Not only the same sentences but the same expressions and the exactly similar wave of his hand - it all made her realize what the King wanted from her. She was a high officer now, and it was clear the promotion had been taken place so she would be able to do whatever it took to give the needed advantage for them.
Anything to give them the needed advantage. Anything.
Sulrochil straightened up and looked at a flickering candle on the wall. For a while, she only listened to the silence around her, trying to understand why the King did not ask that from her directly since this was something she was capable of doing. She had done it before and could do it again. The reason was apparent, for right now in his post-bonding condition, of which overprotective was an understatement, Legolas would disapprove of it and deny her from going in the first place.
For a split second, she wondered if she should say this aloud now for Legolas. Still, even though she did not want to keep secrets from him, she needed a few moments to ponder how she would tell this to Legolas so he would understand and not forbid her from taking this mission altogether.
Later. She would tell him about this later tonight. Now before Legolas would realize the silent communication that had been taken place between the lines of the spoken conversation, she needed to switch the topic. And do it fast.
"I understand this very well," Sulrochil said in bubbly spirits and sat at the bench close to Legolas, draping her arm around him. "But you asked us to tell you something cheerful, and I believe we all need to hear such things tonight. Regardless of my mission tomorrow we are joyous -"
"It will be pure torture after you go tomorrow," Legolas interrupted her.
"Legolas," Sulrochil looked deeply in his eyes. "They all know that. Could we try to forget it for at least for a short moment so we could have even the tiniest amount of happy celebration on our betrothal night?" She did not wait for an answer and turned to look at everyone; her eyes were shining pure love.
"There are also many amusing tales of our journey from Minas Tirith back home. We have seen, for example, a bear who was munching her food so loudly the whole of Middle-earth must have heard it. You might have believed it was a thunderstorm, but no - it was only a bear eating."
Her eyes shone as she went on with her jocular tales.
"Somewhere near Lothlorien, there were also mushrooms who were bouncing in the forest here and there. Those mushrooms listened to the whispering of the trees. By a narrow path, they were jumping in a cute queue to another forest to tell the stories to the other trees."
Sulrochil saw a little smile tugging at Legolas' lips. She paused for a moment and let her gaze go through all three other elves, seeing their amusement and she shared a smiling look with Thranduil when he realized she is telling some kind of inside jest so Legolas would not have time to ponder the previous matter.
"We also planned all of our wedding. The decoration is effortless - the whole place will be scattered with green leaves like a heavy wind stormed them all over." She turned to look at Legolas. "But, oh, that naturally means we cannot get married in May, because the leaves are so small. I suggest we postpone the wedding until the middle of the summer. Now I know!" she said brightly. "29th of July is the birthday of my mother, and that would be a perfect day."
"Or how about until August 6th, which is my birthday?" Legolas said with a wide smile.
"But I like autumn and would like to get married in September," Sulrochil replied, tilting her head to the right.
"November is always gloomy, and our wedding could give some light into the grimness of the darkest month of the year," he continued the silly argument feeling mirth flowing into their souls.
"December is even darker."
"Aye, but there is usually snow in December making it lighter than November."
"But it could also be in January, which is the month when the amount of light grows, and it would be fitting to have a wedding at that time."
"March could also be nice when the first birds come back from the south. You always like hearing their singing."
"April would be better because that is when all the snow is gone, and the first flowers bloom."
"But I guess May would be the best because that is the month when the trees begin to get their greenness, and it gives the anticipation of the summer."
"Exactly," Sulrochil said. "So it is settled then: our wedding should be in May two years from now."
"Two years?"
"Is it not obvious? The first year is the customary year of the betrothal of all elves and the second year is what we just bargained." Sulrochil grinned.
Legolas shook his head in disbelief.
"Legolas," Gwennor said. "Have you not learnt in all these years, you cannot win an argument with her?"
"I have to try," Legolas replied. "Perhaps someday, I might."
"Perhaps someday you might get close," Sulrochil said.
"And since you began telling stories about your journey," Thranduil said, knowing they could not return into the previous matters anymore. "Why don't you, Legolas, tell us about your journey with the Fellowship of the Ring?"
Legolas began telling stories about the quest of destroying the One Ring, trying to concentrate on the positive things and not dwell too much on all the hardships. At some point in his story, the door opened. Pleinda came in to check if there was a need for anything.
"Pleinda," Sulrochil said, walking close to the servant. "There are some items I would need for my mission tomorrow."
"My Lady, you only need to name those things, and you will have them if it is in my power to give them."
"Alright," Sulrochil said, getting odd shivers when she heard the title. She grabbed Pleinda by her arm and began walking with her out of the room. "First of all, I need a woollen hat, grey or brown, something plain and simple, the rattiest you can find…"
Legolas leaned on the wall behind him, tried not to think about tomorrow, and continued his story, but was not able to concentrate on the story when she was gone. He realized he could still sense Sulrochil's movements through their Wardens' Bond and feel her emotions through the Bond of Love. The whirlwind of everything in his soul made him miss her impossibly. He could not even think about tomorrow when she would be very much further than in the next room.
Sulrochil stayed with Pleinda for some time, and it made Legolas edgy. "What is she doing there? She is not moving, so she must be waiting for Pleinda to bring something. Why can't she wait for it here?"
"She has not been away long enough that you should begin to worry," Gwennor said.
"Perhaps not long enough to worry," Thranduil said. "But long enough to miss her. It is late. We should go to rest, and leave Legolas here to wait for her."
All three other elves stood up and walked away, bidding goodnight to Legolas.
"Forgive me for staying so long," Sulrochil said when she finally came back to Legolas.
"Why did you not come here with me when you were waiting for Pleinda or somebody to bring you something?" Legolas huffed. He was sitting on a bench with crossed arms and leaning his head against the wall behind him, not looking at her.
Sulrochil felt his irritation; it swayed slowly around her head like grey fog. She sat beside him and thrust a folded piece of paper into his hand. "I was writing this."
Legolas looked at the paper and tried to open it, but she stopped it with her hand. "Please, do not read it now. I wanted to give it to you later tonight, but I feel your frustration, and you cannot calm down unless you know the reason why I was gone so long. I wanted to give you a gift as well, but I do not have anything with me that has the slightest importance. That is why I wrote you a letter. You can read it tomorrow when I am gone."
Legolas' anger changed to shame when he leaned his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "I am sorry."
"It is alright," Sulrochil said, putting her hand onto his back. "Let us go to our room now."
"How can I be such a fool? Of course you had a good reason to stay there," he said, rising and put the letter in his pocket.
"You are supposed to be a fool when you just got the bond." She rose on her toes to peck a small kiss on his lips. "Now, come on. There is another surprise when we get there."
"What is it?" he wondered, as they walked out of the dining hall.
"Are you able to wait for a few moments when we actually arrive there?" she asked, and answered herself, "Of course not!"
Quickly, she bolted up the stairs, leaving Legolas to stand bewildered in the hall. On the second floor, she leaned on the railing and whispered down to him, "This is our betrothal night! What are you waiting for?"
The thrill of her free-flowing love in his soul made him get to his senses and chase the giggling elf upstairs. Halfway to the room, he reached her, grabbed her by the waist and swiftly threw her over his shoulder.
The shrieks of her laughter resounded throughout the corridor as she pummeled his back. "Let me down!" She flailed her legs and writhed with all her strength, trying to escape from his grip, but both knew her every attempt would be unsuccessful.
Legolas opened the door and stepped in, carrying a wriggling Sulrochil on his shoulder. Love whirled in their hearts, and there seemed to be no limits to the fits of her chirpy laughter.
Their night awaited between this threshold and the dawn.
Author's Note: Comments are always welcome