A/N: I'm so thrilled you guys like this fic so far, guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews/comments! The chapters are quite short for now and this one is written in yet another tense because I'm still experimenting with what works best for the characters. I think I'll be sticking for first person/past tense for Millie and in this chapter, I'll be doing the same. Nothing very much exciting is happening now, but as I said, this is a slow burn. If you have ideas of what you'd like to see, do let me know. Anyway, enough rambling from me - enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Four

Suspicion

Hallath was a fool.

Incredibly loyal, but a fool nonetheless. I'd always thought nobody else in my guard could match Tauriel's talents as captain and as a warrior. After her marriage to Prince Kili, it was Hallath who proved himself worthy above the others. He was a firm, but fair captain and his men both respected and looked up to him. Most of them feared me and probably believed I cared very little about them. Truthfully, I knew the name of every single elf who lived in my kingdom and some of them have lived here since we first arrived in Middle-Earth. In those days, we referred to our home as Taur-e-Ndaeldelos but overtime, it became known as Mirkwood in the common tongue and it simply stuck.

These woods have been the home of the Silvan for several millennia and we have always protected this realm from evil. Humans and especially dwarves have always believed that we are cruel and unmerciful compared to our kin in Imladris and Lórien. Perhaps they are right, but what they do not understand, is that while the other elven kingdoms have been safe and far away from the enemy, we have not been so lucky. So, while others may not understand our reluctance to open our doors to the rest of Arda, my people do. For as long as we have inhabited this kingdom, my father has always protected it and as have I. That is why my people have always stood by my side and trusted my decision as a king.

However, things have begun to change. Since the defeat of Sauron at the end of our last age, Middle-Earth has become more united. Particularly since that Dúnedain ranger sat upon the throne of Gondor and that blonde dwarf decided to rule Erebor. Now, people turned to Mirkwood to form diplomatic relations and sign papers on trade agreements between the various kingdoms of Middle-Earth, as if we were nothing but pawns in their game.

Much to Elrond's annoyance, I have always refused.

We do some trade in goods with the people of Dale, but that is only because of our previous agreement with Lake Town. No matter how good and kind they tell me King Fili is, I've always seen too much of his uncle in him. Fili even married Thorin's widowed fiancé and raised his son.

For centuries, dwarves have proven they can't be trusted.

Hallath was indeed a fool to believe that young Millicent Thomas was different than anyone else. For all we knew, she could have been sent here as a spy, with orders to report back to Lady Signe of Dale. Signe had recently taken over the throne after her mother Sigrid's passing and seemed to have made it her mission to form an alliance with us. When Sigrid ruled Dale after Bard's death, we had understanding, which she always honored on account of her father. Her daughter had clearly decided to discard our old arrangement and instead of silently continuing our trades, she always insisted on pestering us by sending diplomatic emissaries to treat with us.

Yet, I could tell Hallath sincerely believed that this human girl with a strange air about her, was entirely innocent of any crime. During our conversation earlier today, he explained that Millicent had been surprised upon finding out that this place was called Middle-Earth and claimed that neither elves or dwarves existed in her world. Supposedly, her kingdom was at war with a race called Germans and on the night she found herself in our woods, she thought she had died in an attack on her city.

It was nothing but an outrageous, albeit creative, lie on her part. Frankly, I was surprised that Hallath believed her so blindly because his judge of character was usually excellent. To say that this whole strange affair was frustrating was an understatement and I certainly didn't need it. So what if Millicent had appeared in our world and didn't belong here? She certainly wasn't elf-kind, so why was her fate any concern of mine? For all I cared, Hallath could either leave her to rot in our prison or cast her back into the woods and let the spiders deal with her.

No matter how much I tried to tell myself that Millicent Thomas wasn't my concern, her presence still troubled me. Nothing in this world happened by accident, that much I have learned over the course of my lifetime. If she was indeed telling the truth, then I was left no choice but believe that the cause behind this was magic. That was even more troublesome because it certainly wasn't elf magic that had caused her to end up in my kingdom.

Of course there were no wizards around when you truly needed them. Nobody had seen Gandalf the White since he last visited Elrond in Imladris, sometime after Aragorn's coronation. As it often was with wizards, they came and went as they pleased and there was no point trying to tie them down to any one place.

Perhaps if I wrote to Elrond and sought his counsel, he could shine some light on this strange affair.

I shook my head and exhaled a frustrated sigh as I sat down on my throne and crossed my legs.

No.

I would not ask Elrond for help. Millicent was only a girl and she certainly wasn't something to fear. But what to do with her? If she was telling the truth and wasn't from this world, what were we supposed to do with her? A human should surely be with other humans, but if we sent her to Dale, Lady Signe would no doubt start asking questions without viable answers and that wasn't a door I wanted to open.

If the people of Dale found out I was keeping a human girl prisoner in my dungeons, havoc would break loose and then I'd never hear the end of it.

Hallath explained to me that Millicent was a nurse, which seemed to be a human healer. While her kingdom was at war, she treated soldiers who returned injured from the battlefield. A girl that age seemed too young to have witnessed that much death, yet she showed no signs of fear. Perhaps there could be some use for her here. Of course, elves have never needed to worry about sicknesses, but humans have sometimes called for our aid. I have been fortunate to have some very talented healers in these halls.

I was getting ahead of myself and I was being reckless. I still didn't know if Millicent could actually be trusted.

If Legolas was here, he would no doubt tell me to release her and allow her to stay here as our guest. If she couldn't go home, wherever her home was, what other choice did I have?

Reluctantly, I got up from my throne and walked down the wooden steps. I told the Keeper to give me the keys to the dungeon. I saw the skeptical look in the Keeper's eyes when he passed me the keys, but wisely, he held his tongue.

As soon as I began my descent down the steps to the dungeons, my elf-ears heard Millicent shifting from sitting to standing. By the time I approached the cell, she stood with her arms crossed and studied me carefully as she noticed the keys in my hand. I could tell she hadn't slept much and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her blonde hair had lost some of its neat U-shape and the curls were frizzy. Her emerald eyes stared right at me, showing no fear at all where many humans would have otherwise looked away. She said nothing as I turned the key and opened the door.

"You are free to leave." I announced "If my captain tells me you are not a threat to us, then I believe him."

"Where am I supposed to go?" Millicent asked "Your captain must have told you everything, which means he also told you my home is far away. I don't know how, but this is a different world from mine. I know you don't believe me but elves don't exist where I come from. They're fairy tales told to children at bedtime. I know I don't have any head injuries, which means that all of this is somehow very real."

For the first time since our first meeting, I heard fear in her voice. In that moment, I almost felt sorry for her. She was nothing but a girl who had somehow strayed too far from home and found herself in an elven kingdom.

"If you are telling the truth and you know nothing about Middle-Earth, then I do not know how to help you." I told her and I also saw the disappointment in her eyes.

"Is there anyone who can?" she asked "If there's a way for me to go home, I'd like to."

"There is a wizard who might be able to help. Unfortunately, his whereabouts at this particular moment remains unknown. You are welcome to leave, but if you are right, then this world is very different from yours and much more dangerous for young girls who know nothing of its evils."

"So what should I do then?"

I knew I would regret this, but somehow, I also knew it was what I had to do. No matter the consequences I would suffer later.

I could already hear Elrond's voice in my head.

"You may stay here if you wish," I told her "Hallath tells me you have some skills with healing, perhaps you may be of some use for us. I will have my servants prepare a room for you. For now, Millicent Thomas, until such a time when we can find Gandalf the Wizard, you are a guest in my home."

Millicent was as surprised as I was, but she didn't say anything else and so I was finally able to return to my study and hopefully remain behind locked doors.

To be continued….

There we go, another quick update. The next chapter will probably be a few days from now because I'm trying to finish my novel manuscript and a couple of work deadlines. Did you like this first person/past tense version of the Thranduil chapters? Or would you prefer it to go back to third person? Do you think it's a natural reaction for Thranduil to allow Millie to reside in Mirkwood for a while? What do you think will happen next? Leave a review/comment :)