Warning: About a third of this chapter is character descriptions at the end for those of you who've forgotten who everyone is.
"She gets tired so much more quickly now."
"So did Lanthirel."
"And her emotions are so unpredictable."
"So were Lanthirel's."
"And she is ill so often."
"Lanthirel did not have that problem, but your mother did."
"I should have apologized. And when she is not ill, she eats twice as much!"
"Again, so did Lanthirel. This is all perfectly normal, Thranduil." Taensirion stepped in the way of Thranduil's pacing and put his hands on his king's shoulders. "Eithryn is strong. She will be just fine, I promise."
"Hmm," said Thranduil doubtfully. His first months as a father so far consisted of bizarre and unpleasant things happening to his wife, including total reversals of her normal strange habits. She had voluntarily put a halt to her fighting practice, for goodness' sake!
"It is perfectly all right to worry," Taensirion told him. "Just try not to overdo it. Asking if she feels all right every time you see her might be a bit much."
"I know," he sighed.
"She should stop feeling sick soon, at least," his advisor promised. "You are nearly a third of the way through."
Somehow the thought that he was only eight months away from holding his child did not make Thranduil any less anxious. Maybe it was the thought of his precious wife being in labor, or the knowledge that his little one's life would depend on his ability to care for and protect him or her. What if he did something wrong?
"I know," Taensirion said sympathetically, being quite capable of interpreting his friend's facial expressions. "Trust me when I say it is not as hard as it seems, and that you will manage just fine. And remember, you have until next spring."
Thranduil supposed he would always have Taensirion to run to if anything went wrong, not to mention Felrion, and that thought did make him feel better.
. . . . . .
"Let me see... Peanut butter... pickles, of course... cheese, cherries... and suddenly I really hate beef, but chicken and pork are fine." Sky shrugged. "Actually, do you have any cheese?"
Lanthirel giggled. "Plenty." She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a plate covered in various cheeses. "I would eat strawberries with melted cheese, all three times. I think that was my lunch every day for a month once or twice."
"What did Taensirion think?" Sky asked through a mouthful of cheese.
"He never did comment, though there were times when I think he had trouble keeping a straight face."
Kilvara, sitting on Sky's left side on the couch—Lanthirel was on the pregnant she-elf's right—stole a piece of cheese. "This is so strange."
"My cheese," Sky scolded, holding the plate away from her friend. "And tell me about it. One moment I'm throwing up, and the next I have to eat all the peanut butter in the house."
"That sounds about right. But Kilvara, that reminds me," Lanthirel said, "are you and Felrion planning to start your family soon?"
The red-haired elf shook her head, unsure. "We were hoping to, but now, with this trouble in Angmar..."
"True," Lanthirel agreed sadly. "It seems like there is always a war somewhere."
All three sighed.
"Ah, here comes Thranduil after Taen's weekly encouragement speech," Lanthirel said, hearing a door open.
"He needs it," Sky commented dryly. "Wait... did you just call him Taen?"
Lanthirel winked. "It is a cute nickname." She turned as the king and his advisor walked in. "Ah, hello. Were you successful?"
"I think he is getting used to the idea," Taensirion told them, patting Thranduil on the shoulder.
The king did not look sure about that, but he smiled at his wife.
Sky waited. Her husband seemed to be forgetting something.
"What is it?" he asked, frowning at her expectant expression.
"Are you sure you don't want to check if I'm dying? After all, it's been like half an hour."
He rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her. "I should be on my way." He had yet another meeting to attend; who would have thought he would someday miss his former workload as prince?
"Do you need me?" Taensirion asked him, rubbing his injured hand after foolishly trying to take some of Sky's cheese.
"No, I think I can manage, though I would appreciate it if you would look through those reports on the armories sometime today." Thranduil hesitated at the door. "Eithryn, will you be all right here?"
"Don't make me throw cheese at you, Thranduil."
. . . . . .
A few meetings later, Thranduil was discussing events in the northernmost part of his realm with some of his officials from that area when Taensirion came in, looking anxious. "I think you had better come with me, my lord."
The king was out the door in an instant. "What is it? Is Eithryn all right? Is someone getting a healer?"
"Nothing is wrong with the baby," Taensirion said soothingly, leading the king in the direction of his thankfully very-close house (the underground palace would not be complete for a few more years, so all official business still took place in aboveground buildings). "I am sorry, I should have made that clear. It is only... well, you will see."
Uneasy thoughts drifted through the king's mind as they made the short journey; Taensirion had insisted the baby was all right, but what about Eithryn? Was she terribly ill? Had she hurt herself somehow? Then, as they approached the door, he heard what was going on inside and ran the last few steps to burst inside. "Eithryn!"
She bolted out of Lanthirel and Kilvara's arms and into his. "Thranduil," she choked out as she squeezed him until he could hardly breathe.
"What happened?" he demanded.
She sniffled. "I don't know!"
Kilvara looked like she was on the brink of tears herself, but Lanthirel was more helpful. "This just happens sometimes when she-elves are expecting." She winked at Taensirion. "Right?"
"Yes, but..." He winced as Eithryn stopped whimpering for a moment to gasp for air. "You have never been this hysterical."
Poor Thranduil scooped his wife into his arms and sat down on the couch, trying to find the words to comfort her. He looked to Taensirion for help.
"Just talk to her," the advisor suggested, sitting next to Thranduil and patting his shoulder sympathetically.
Thranduil tried to make himself relax. "Eithryn, love? I promise everything will be all right soon."
Taensirion nodded encouragingly as Lanthirel sat down on Thranduil's other side and began to stroke Eithryn's hair.
"Is there anything we can get you that would help?" Thranduil asked his wife.
She started to shake her head, but then changed her mind and said, "Garlic bread."
That was not what any of them were expecting, but they could hardly say no to her. "Then let us get you some garlic bread," Thranduil decided, feeling a little bit perplexed but also incredibly relieved as he realized she had stopped crying.
Ten minutes later, Eithryn happily munched on a loaf of garlic bread, watching Taensirion try to convince a traumatized king that he could make it through this.
Don't ask.
Hey, so since this is a short chapter and I know some readers may be having trouble keeping alllllll my characters straight (including the three... um, four whose names start with F), I thought I'd give a quick summary of each character, including a physical description that's hopefully a little bit better than what little I actually gave in the story (?) and whether they're Tolkien's character, from the movies only, or my original character.
Thranduil (Tolkien's character): Sindarin elf; king of Greenwood, married to Sky. Hopefully you know what he looks like, but if not, just Google him or something.
Oropher (Tolkien's character): Sindarin elf; former king of Greenwood, slightly dead now. Thranduil's dad. Pretty similar to Thranduil in appearance, with the exact same hair and eye color, but he has (ahem, had) a stronger jaw and a less thin face, and was maybe a tiny bit taller. Like Thranduil, did not braid his hair, as it wasn't the style in Doriath (according to my weird headcanon).
Eithryn, a.k.a. Skyfire, a.k.a. Sky (my character): Silvan elf, queen of Greenwood, currently pregnant and having weird cravings and mood swings. Married to Thranduil (obviously), and Storm/Coryn is her brother. About... hmm... Tauriel's height (normal Silvan elf height), with fairly dark copper-brown hair and very bright, vivid green eyes (hopefully you have that part down). Her hair used to be braided kind of like Tauriel's, though a little simpler, but as of when Gil-Galad was introduced, it's been braided so it curls around to one side of her neck, which Thranduil prefers. She fidgets and bounces on her heels constantly, and looks a lot like Legolas, especially the shape of her eyes.
Coryn, a.k.a. Stormfire, a.k.a. Storm (my character): Silvan elf, Sky's brother. His eyes have distinct patches of bright green and medium-brown, and his hair is copper with some black mixed in. If you want to know why, Google chimerism. He's about Legolas's height and build (so taller than most of the Silvans) and looks enough like him to be recognized as his uncle (in the future, of course. If I don't kill him.) His hair is in a normal braid for male Silvan elves, so basically what Legolas has.
Kilvara (my character): Silvan elf, Felrion's wife and Sky's friend. Commander in Greenwood's army and in charge of a bunch of other stuff, I'm sure. Sky's height, with bright red hair and light green eyes. Normal braid style for female Silvan elves.
Felrion (my character): Silvan elf, Kilvara's husband, head healer of Greenwood. Can't fight in the slightest and currently does not get along with Taensirion. Pretty much exactly Kilvara's height, with woodish-brown hair and hazel eyes, and a fairly narrow face.
Taensirion (my character): Sindarin elf, advisor to the king and General in Greenwood's army, married to Lanthirel; Sky started calling him Taen and it caught on. A few inches shorter than Thranduil with narrower shoulders, but otherwise a similar build. Yellowish-blond hair and light gray eyes, and braids his hair Silvan-style 'cause his wife likes it and it's practical, in that order.
Lanthirel (my character): Sindarin elf, married to Taensirion. Slightly shorter than Taen, so a fair bit taller than most of the Silvans. Moves very gracefully. Dark reddish-brown hair and bright blue eyes. Doesn't usually braid her hair, but might for household chores or something.
Aleinia (my character): Silvan elf, Feren's mom, sort of adopted into Taen and Lanthirel's family (has only been in one chapter so far, but should be mentioned more in the future(?)) Taller than Silvan average, with medium-brown hair and almost black eyes. Always looks sad from losing her husband a long time ago.
Galion (Tolkien's character): Silvan elf, Thranduil and Sky's butler, married to Caliel. A little shorter than the other Silvans. Darkish-brown hair and brown eyes; there are a few pictures of him from the movie on Google Images.
Caliel (my character): Silvan elf, Galion's wife. Has strawberry-blond hair that almost looks pink, and dark green eyes.
Firith (my character): Silvan elf, Galion and Caliel's son. Same hair color as his mom, and brown eyes like his dad. Usually looks serious, for some reason. Also is about the elven equivalent of fourteen or so at the moment.
Silana (my character): Sindarin elf (but will tell you she's one-third Silvan because of her adopted second mom), youngest of Taen and Lanthirel's three daughters, and the only one to have been raised in Greenwood. Protective of her adopted twin brother, Feren. Shortest in her family (because of her Silvan blood, according to her), dark reddish-brown hair that she braids like Sky's, and light gray eyes. Should be more important in future chapters.
Feren (movie character): Silvan elf (but says he's half Sindarin), adopted with his mom into Taen and Lanthirel's family. Medium-brown hair and dark brown eyes. (Can be Googled if desired.)
Faena (my character): Sindarin elf, Taen and Lanthirel's oldest daughter. Yellow-blond hair and grayish-blue eyes.
Milaera (my character): Sindarin elf, Taen and Lanthirel's middle daughter. Dark reddish-brown hair and blue eyes.
Heledir (my character): Sindarin elf, Faena's husband, in charge of trade for Greenwood. Will probably be mentioned in the next chapter somewhere.
Did anyone actually read all that?