Chapter 48

A King's Gratitude

Jupiter's POV

The next day we were up early, preparing to go home. Thranduil was occupying Thorin while we packed. It was interesting to watch Thranduil with his grandson. He was almost... goofy. He did almost anything Thorin wanted. Whether he wanted him to be a dragon that Thorin could fight, or being his brave companion on an adventure. I stopped in the middle of packing to watch him chase Thranduil with a wooden sword. This time, Thranduil was the dragon and Thorin was the hero who would slay him. It made me smile. I ran forward and grabbed my son.

"The dragon has help!"

"No!"

Thorin started to shriek with laughter and I gave him to Thranduil. I had never seen him smile so much until Thorin.

"I'm a dragon rider! I tamed the mighty dragon!"

Thranduil held out his arms and pretended to fly. I always wanted my son to be happy and smiling. He actually had the same smile as his father and Thranduil. They 'flew' out of the room and I shook my head. Legolas came up behind me and put his arms around me.

"I haven't seen such a bright smile on my father's face in many years. Not since my mother was alive. Thorin has brought so much joy to his once cold heart."

I smiled.

"He has the same smile as the two of you." I said.

"Yes, I'd noticed, but he is like you in every way. He's special."

I still had doubts in my mind, but I was beginning to see that perhaps his power wasn't a curse after all. I was happy it wasn't destructive like mine was. I felt Legolas' lips on my neck and closed my eyes. I leaned into his chest and he moved my hair over my shoulder.

"Legolas, I have to pack..."

He chuckled.

"Can you spare twenty minutes for your husband?"

"Ooh you play dirty, mon amour."

He laughed softly and kissed just beneath my ear. He spun me around and smiled at me. I looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"You planned this."

He had closed and locked the door.

"Well maybe a bit, but I closed it because I wanted to speak with you privately."

I nodded and we sat down.

"I'm worried. There have been too many orcs near our home in recent years. I was thinking it might be better to stay in Lothlorien for a while, or Imladris. Only for the time being."

I sighed.

"I was worried this might come up. I agree with you though. It'll be hard though, I love our house so much. Thorin was born there, our whole life is there. I know that we'll go back... but it won't be the same. I lived in Lothlorien for years, that's where I want to go. If it's alright with you."

"Of course."

"Although I am curious? Why not stay here? Your father is here and Thorin loves to be with him."

"I worry about the spiders and Dol Guldur. Yes I know it is safe in my father's halls but stray too far... I worry for Thorin. He likes to explore."

I hadn't thought of that. I smiled a bit.

"Thorin is a lot like me when I was little. Granted, I explored so I could find a warm place to sleep, he has no need to do that."

Legolas started to rub my back.

"I don't like hearing of your childhood. It breaks my heart to hear about what they did."

"It wasn't all bad. I had my grandmother for most my life. Several of my neighbors would always let me sleep at their house. They'd set up a guest room or let me sleep on the couch."

"I am grateful to those kind hearted people. You don't know how much I wish I could take away the pain of your past."

I smiled and leaned into him.

"You already have."

He seemed a little confused and I laughed.

"You found me on the road when I first came here. You kept me safe, you showed me kindness. You looked for me for a year and then stayed with me. You gave me love that I never thought I'd know, then you asked me to be your wife. You had a house built for us that I will love until the end of time. And then you gave me the greatest gift of all. You gave me Thorin. You gave me the family I always wanted. You brought me to my brother and now I have siblings. It no longer hurts me to remember my past. Your love has made me stronger. You know that, don't you?"

He smiled at me.

"I do now, meleth nin. Amin mela lle."

"Je'taime." I told him.

He kissed me and didn't stop. I laid back and pulled him on top of me. I felt him smile as he started to undress me. Packing was now the last thing on my mind. Legolas always treated me as his greatest treasure. I'd never get tired of it.

That night at dinner we told Thranduil of our plans.

"I certainly approve of this. Not that you ever needed my approval, Jupiter."

I smiled and winked which made him chuckle. He leaned towards my son.

"Your mother is a force to be reckoned with. Someday I'll tell you about the princess who taught a lesson to a very foolish king."

Thorin smiled. I loved to see my son smile.

"This way we'll be able to visit your grandfather more often."

"Really?"

"Yes. We won't be needing to cross through the mountains so it will be an easier trip." said Legolas.

"And whenever I can I shall visit you, though I may not always have such time."

I was glad Thorin was happy about all this. I was worried he wouldn't want to leave home.

"Why can't we stay here?" He asked.

Legolas and I looked at each other.

"Lothlorien is much safer for you and your parents. Much as I would love for you to remain here, I would feel better knowing you were safe in Lorien." said Thranduil.

Thorin argued a bit but he didn't exactly have a choice. He wanted to stay with his grandpa and I understood, but we were still going. He stomped off to his room and I sighed.

"And here I expected him to put about a fight about leaving home."

"I will send word to Tindomiel. I'm certain she and your siblings will bring the things we need to Lothlorien." Legolas told me.

"And I'm certain she'll stay too. I know for a fact Vardamir will stay. I swear it's like he's my twin. We prefer to be close to each other. Manwndil and Atanaclar will certainly come as well. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Legolas smiled at me. After all, it was thanks to him that I was able to find my brother.

"I'll speak with Thorin."

He kissed me before leaving. I was left with Thranduil, who smiled.

"I know I've said it before, but I was so very wrong about you, Jupiter. I could have never found a better woman for my son if I searched for eternity. And then Thorin was born. Had Legolas not found you and fallen in love with you... I doubt I would have ever had a grandchild. And a wonderful grandson at that. I still wonder sometimes how you were able to forgive my treatment of you so easily."

I walked over and took my father-in-law's hand.

"I understand you a lot better than you think. You know I never had a father. My real father died before I was born and the one I called father beat me. My grandmother always taught me that you have to forgive people, if not for them then for yourself. But you lost the woman you loved. I can't even imagine losing Legolas. Sometimes in grief, we forget about everything but the pain. I was the same way when my grandmother died. I think deep down you were afraid Legolas would feel the same pain."

He squeezed my hand and for the first time, I saw tears in his eyes.

"I believe you're right. Silivrennial was my world. She was perfect in every way. Then she gave me Legolas. I'd never been so happy. And then in one second my world was destroyed. I had so many things left to tell her. What she meant to me, how grateful I was that she'd been part of my life."

I smiled.

"I actually think I can help with that."

He looked curious and we went to Thorin's room. Legolas was in there with him and when he saw me he looked guilty.

"Maman I'm sorry."

"Oh honey it's okay. I know you just want to spend time with your grandpa."

"Grandma too."

Thranduil's eyes widened.

I knelt down.

"Is grandma here now?"

He looked around.

"I think she went to her garden."

I looked at Thranduil.

'I... I had a garden built for her. She had such a fondness for white roses. She and I were the only ones who knew about it. Come."

All four of us went to Silivrennial's garden. There was a small waterfall and a little pond with water lilies along with hundreds of white roses everywhere I looked.

"This is beautiful." I said.

"Grandma!"

Thorin ran forward but I couldn't see who he was running to.

"Thorin, why don't you tell us what grandma is saying." I said.

"She's happy. She's happy that her family is happy. But she misses grandpa."

I looked at Thranduil.

"Tell her. Tell her everything you want to."

He walked over and Thorin smiled.

"Where is she?"

Thorin turned him so I assumed he was now facing Silivrennial.

"I wish I could see your beautiful face. I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you. I love you more than any treasure in this world. You meant more to me than my own life. I could never tell you how grateful I am that I had you in my life. You were perfect, you always will be. I know you will always be beside me, but it will never be enough. I will always love you, Silivrennial. I promise you, I will never let my heart grow cold again."

I wrapped my arms around Legolas and held him close to me.

"She loves you grandpa. And ada and maman. She sent maman to ada."

Legolas and I looked up in surprise.

"What?"

Thorin looked at us.

"She says she brought maman here to ada."

I'd always wondered how I'd been brought to Middle-Earth.

"Hannon le, naneth." Legolas said.

Legolas pulled me to his chest.

"She says she knew maman would help you and grandpa to heal."

I felt Legolas shake slightly and I smiled sadly.

I hope I didn't disappoint you. I promise I will continue to take care of Legolas and Thranduil. I will keep this family together. Thank you for bringing me home.

I saw Thranduil pick up Thorin.

"She says she wants us to share the garden."

"I think that's a splendid idea." said Thranduil.

Thranduil walked over to me. He set Thorin down before reaching into his pocket.

'I had this made for Silivrennial. It was her favorite. I' ve carried it around with me for many, many years. I want you to have it, Jupiter."

He put a beautiful bracelet around my wrist.

"She always preferred the simple things. Much like you. She would want you to have this as well."

The bracelt was pure silver and it wrapped around my wrist like a vine. There were tiny silver leaves and then one rose in the middle of the bracelet.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

"No, thank you. Now I think it is time for all of us to get some rest. I will ride with you to the edge of the forest."

We all agreed and went to bed.

Legolas' POV

I remembered the bracelet well. Once we had put Thorin to bed, Jupiter and I went back to our room. I looked at the bracelet with a smile.

"My mother loved this bracelet. It makes me happy to see it again. I spoke with Vardamir. He is going to travel back to Imladris and bring your other siblings to Lothlorien. They also intend to stop back home and bring our things. Once we reach Lothlorien I'm going to go and help them."

"Good idea. Just be careful, please."

I smiled and took her in my arms.

"I'll be alright, I promise."

I kissed her softly. We finished packing and then went to bed.

I apologize for the long delay in updates. I've had some serious writers block since this whole pandemic started.