Chapter 15
The morning had come quicker than she anticipated. Leanna was in the middle of inspecting her arrows when Bertha and another maid came with a dress in tow. At this Leanna frowned, wondering what they wanted from her. The grim bold faced look on the elderly head maid's face told her, she wasn't going to like the answer.
"Bertha…" Leanna greeted, dropping her arrows to listen to her next words.
"Your dress milady" the pale woman snorted uncaring of how unladylike the act was.
"Bertha, no one wears a dress to a tournament, least of all me"
"Aye, but the master says you've got to since you're not in the tournament" Bertha spoke as she moved aside for the other maids to lay the dress on the bed.
"What…?" Leanna stilled. Bertha remained unfazed by the drop in room temperature having come prepared for the lady's anger. She repeated the words casually relayed to her.
"Master says you're to sit wid im and the guests while we watch, e says not to leave 'ere without them dress on and to make sure you look real nice today" Bertha repeated. The gleam in her eyes told Leanna the head maid was serious and would not budge. Leanna dropped her quiver back beside her bow and faced the maids.
"Very well then"
"Aye, we'll get to it then" Bertha said, slightly surprised at her co-operation. The head maid had half expected the lady to stomp out of the room to find Bard and most likely throttle his head off his neck. She quickly set up a bath and helped Leanna prepare.
When the maids were finished, Leanna looked at herself in the mirror. Her dress was a pale blue gown with her hair elegantly braided up into a bun. She smiled wryly at her reflection in the mirror having grown tired of the costumes she was made to prance in, all in the name of a pompous elf King whom Bard must really want to impress.
She lead the way of the room with the maids trailing behind her, making their way to training grounds where the tournament was to be held.
The air was suddenly frosty in their already chilly morning, and Bard could tell because the strands of his beard grew cold and brittle.
He knew she would be angry that he forced her out of the tournament, but it was for her own good, he thought. Leanna didn't need any more attention than what she had attained from the elves. He could not pinpoint how that would bring trouble to Dale but Bard knew he'd rather things remained as they were.
"My lords" Leanna bowed, greeting both Thranduil and Bard at the large tent set up of for guests to watch the proceedings of the tournament. They reciprocated with nods of acknowledgement.
Bard saw by the stiffness of her expression, she had some choice words to give to him, but he blatantly ignored it. It may have hurt her feelings to sideline her this much but this was much better than having her on the field with all eyes on her.
The men and their elven counterparts assembled on the field with their bows and quivers full of arrows. Their small round targets set as far as the human eyes could see, it was to be a shooting contest.
Leanna sat in her seat, her fingers already gripping the arm of her chair in repressed anxiety. She watched the men picked for the contest and immediately sighted Bain, who would most likely be taking her place.
Thranduil glanced her way every now and then. He noted a look of concern on her face and followed her line of sight to the group of men aligning themselves into position. The young boy who turned out to be Bard's son was amongst them. He could not hide his pleasure at this silent discovery as he placed two and two together. She had made his goal much easier to reach now that he chanced on this revelation.
The tournament began, with Percy acting as the overall seer and conductor of events. At his mark, the archers moved into position and notched their arrows against their bow.
The arrows let loose with distant sounds of whizzing in the air, some hitting their marks with a thud, while others missed completely. Those who missed their marks left the field and the numbers reduced with the elven archers taking the lead.
Bain had managed to hit his target and was still on the field. Leanna wanted to cheer him on but chose to remain still, her back taut with tension as she watched the boy notch his arrow again.
He was doing well so far which was surprising for the youngest archer, but then it wasn't so surprising as out of all the men there, since his young age gave him a better chance for eyesight. But what he gained in young age, he lacked in experience and for that, worry bloomed in her chest.
The elves were hitting their targets as though they were a mere feet from them, it was obvious from the start who the superior archers were but that did not mean the men would not put up a fight. Leanna could not do anything from her position but she sought to help them somehow. She signaled one maid who came closer and whispered in her ear. Thranduil turned curiously to the secret conversation she was having with the maid and returned to the contest, giving nothing in his expression away.
Bard was tense and he could feel his blood rushing as he watched his son struggled to keep up the elves. He knew the skill of the elves was unmatched in middle earth, but a sense of pride grew on him as he saw his son still standing on the field. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard shouts from the sidelines and turned to see the people and children of Dale shouting out to the men. They were cheering them on.
The archers on the field turned to the noise and Bain looked to the tent where his father and Leanna were seated. He looked to his father and then to Leanna who turned to the people before turning back to him. Nodding and smiling in encouragement. Bain beamed at them and then waved to the people whose cheers rose up higher. He didn't realize it at first but it did him more good than he anticipated. Leanna had seen the change of air around him and knew her plan had worked. Just because she wasn't allowed to participate didn't mean she could help out.
The cheers continued as Bain hit the targets that were farther than others, with more men dropping off until he was the only man of Dale standing. Leanna had herself inching towards the edge of her seat, were Bain to hit the last target which was the farthest one yet, they would win the wager.
"The boy shows promise" Thranduil admitted, his nose up the air as he begrudgingly gave his compliment. "He would make a fine soldier"
"Aye, he would with a little more training"
"And yet how will he fare in this last trial, I wonder" Thranduil smirked as he looked at Bard.
To this Leanna twitched in slight movement. Thranduil uncaring that his words carried across to her and the others in the tent, spoke without modesty. It was one of the many traits she found most dislikeable about him.
'Come on Bain, concentrate…you can do this' Leanna leaned forward, her eyes set on the boy as he notched his last arrow against his bow. With bated breath, he fired the arrow and watched it fly into the sky. Thranduil poured more wine into his cup, sipping casually as he watched the arrow slant into a descending motion. Bard watched bulgy eyed with his hope of winning on obvious display as he too watched the arrow descend.
The arrow landed with a 'thud' and Bain slouched his shoulders forward in defeat. The arrow had missed its target and landed on the ground. Another arrow whizzed past him and landed on the target, Bain turned to find the elf captain who oversaw their training lowering his bow. The elf who had just won the contest looked at him and nodded with a look of approval in his eyes.
"Well, I suppose that concludes the training then, the skill of your elves never ceases to amaze me" Bard said to Thranduil who brushed his finger round the rim of his cup.
"Yes, though I did expect you to lose, I must admit it was unexpected that your men would make it this far" Thranduil said, his eyes fleeting from Bard to the woman beside him. He noted her silence was stronger than before, perhaps due to the shock of losing their wager.
"Your words flatter me my Lord"
"Indeed, but it does not remove the fact that you lost" Thranduil tilted his head casually to side, looking Bard straight in the eyes, his message was clear. Leanna who had been dazed by the turn of events turned to listen to the conversation happening, which she was certain would affect her.
"Ah of course, what is a tournament without a prize to be won? We don't have much but I'm certain we can craft a trophy worth having by the elves" Bard offered. Thranduil finished the wine in his cup and placed it on the table, deciding he had had his fill.
"You have no need of such a tedious task, I already a choice in mind" Thranduil looked out unto the open field where spectators had gathered around Bain to cheer him up.
"Very well then, I shall hear of it and make certain to provide it to the best of my ability" Bard said and waited for Thranduil's response.
"Perhaps at another hour Dragon slayer, I find revealing my desire in such an untimely fashion, distasteful" Thranduil rose from his chair, choosing to say no more as he left the tent with his escorts.
Leanna sunk back into her chair, sighing deeply when she was certain everyone else had departed from the tent. Thranduil had said nothing to her for which she was truly grateful, she did not think her pride could suffer his harsh tongue after the defeat she had just endured.
"That didn't turn out so badly" Bard commented, drinking the last bit of wine in his cup. If anything things turned out better than he expected.
"Yes, if you'll excuse me my Lord, I must…retire to my chambers" Leanna rose up, still slightly dazed.
"Yes of course, see you at the feast tonight" Bard said as Leanna silently walked to her room.
Thranduil sported a smug smile on his face for the remainder of the day making his men wary of him. Their king was known to be a dangerous elf with a vicious tongue to boot, which was why they avoided causing him displeasure. Feran could not deny that he was worried. For whatever reason Thranduil carried such a face, it was a cause for concern.
"He seems pleased, perhaps Aran Thranduil is glad to gain victory in this tournament" a young elven warrior whispered amongst his comrades and Feran turned to the ellon. He was truly naïve if he thought Thranduil cared much for the results of a tournament in the world of men. it was already guaranteed who the victor would be even without seeing the contest to the end. Such knowledge made things hardly exciting.
"He looks as if he has won something valuable" Haelros said as he picked the remaining arrows from the target board. Feran frowned at his words.
"What do the men of Dale have that would be of any real value to Aran Thranduil?" Feran scoffed as he walked away to the quarters prepared for the elves. Haelros stood up straight watching his captain go and he could think of only one answer to his captain's question. He looked at the direction Leanna had left in and sighed. Yes, Dale did have something they treasured deeply.
The feast that night was grand one, grander than the ones they had had before and they had cause for it. For though they had lost the tournament, they had gained honor in the sight of the elves for the deeds they achieved in recent times. To them, it was more than a worthy cause for a grand celebration. Thranduil sat at the table, bored of the unceasing festivities he had been forced to endure in Dale. He sipped from his cup, content to ignore all around him as no one had the courage to engage The ElvenKing in a conversation of any sort.
Leanna was currently watching the dance, her mind not at ease throughout the evening. It was worrisome to find King Thranduil this calm when there was not a smug air of victory around him. The night was running long and Leanna excused herself from dancing all together. A hand tugged her sleeve and she turned to see Bain standing awkwardly. She lifted her eyebrow in amusement, holding back a tease.
"And to what do I owe the honor?" Leanna clasped her hands in front of her to appear like a proper lady of court.
"I-I was, well I was thinking, perhaps o-only if you wanted to-"
"-I would be delighted to join you for a dance" Leanna cut in holding her hand out, smiling at his terrible attempt to ask her for a dance. Laughter and cheers could be heard as the people around watched Bain asked a lady to dance for the first time.
Leanna noted the flush of embarrassment as she danced with the boy who was steadily growing to become a talented young man. While his sisters were growing beautifully, Bain had shown out his siblings the stock of strength and leadership, taking after his father.
"Pay no mind to them, tonight is yours to celebrate as you will, you've earned it" Leanna encouraged as they dance.
"But I lost the tournament"
"Maybe, but to everyone here that hardly matters, you held up in your resilience against the elves and that counts as a victory" Leanna smiled to Bain who nodded to her, seeming more confident. Just as the dance ended a commotion was heard at the high table. Bain turned to Leanna who gave him a grim glance before they moved closer.
"You cannot be serious!" Bard cried out.
"On the contrary, I find it a worthy reward as the victor of our little tournament" Thranduil ignored Bard's outburst, slushing the wine round in his cup as he spoke. He looked up and spotted her in the throng of the crowd, curious of the argument. He smirked coldly, his eyes shifting from her to the boy beside her.
"The price of my reward, is your son"