Chapter 11

The sun was high up in the sky when Daenerys and her escort reached her new home. They rode over low hills until they reached a large crag. Beneath it an elven home was once built, and now it was repaired and ready to welcome her. There was a small yard in front of it, and a large oak tree provided shade. Beneath the tree was a wooden table and two chairs, and a well was at the other side of the yard. The house was made after the elven fashion, with domed windows and tall pillars supporting the arched doors. The back side of the house was built into the rock and was one with it, thus providing it with protection against strong winds, which were not uncommon in this area.

They rode into the yard and dismounted, and Daenerys gave a good look around, as she tethered her horse to the oak tree. The hill was grey and the ground muddy, but surely it would turn green come spring. There was a small structure where the yard began, and it looked like a guardhouse. She inwardly sighed. The guards have instructions to protect you, Thranduil had told her. As much as she wanted to believe him, she was certain that the guards had been an idea of the council. For what more protection needed she, when she had three dragons? Undoubtedly, the guards were tasked with keeping a sharp eye on her. Walking further ahead, she looked at the house. The sight of it was not displeasing, built from stone and two-storey, though she wondered how it might look on the inside.

"Here we are", announced the King. "This is your new home, Daenerys. I hope you are not too disappointed", he said to her.

She gave him a small smile. "I am not. I have lived in much worse conditions, and this house looks welcoming enough. Thank you", she replied, her mind fleetingly traveling to her nomadic life with the Dothraki and their crude tents.

The dragon-cart entered then the yard, creaking as it rolled on uneven ground. "Where are my dragons going to live?" she wondered, as she looked at the narrow door of the house. She doubted a dragon could fit through there.

"There is an opening to the east side of the crag, just as you go round this rock", Thranduil replied. "Come, I will show you", he said and motioned for the cage to be transferred there.

True enough, there was a large opening in the hillside, barred with heavy iron doors. The elven guards went and unlocked them, and the cart moved towards them. "The hill is cavernous here. The dragons will have much space, even as they grow", the Elvenking told her. Daenerys nodded and walked through the doors. There were two large braziers on either side of the doorway, and several torches upon the walls, lending their dim, orange light to the large cavern. For the cavern was large indeed, and Daenerys looked up to its domed roof as she walked inside, and saw that is was several meters high, the ceiling barely visible in the darkness. The main cave extended into smaller ones further back, as far as the eye could see. "This has been a refuge for my people in times past", Thranduil said, and his voice echoed on the walls. "The caverns are well-mapped. You shall have no fear of getting lost in them, for they are large but not labyrinthine. And look here", he said and took her gently by the elbow, leading her to the western wall of the cave. There was a wooden door, too small for dragons to pass through, but perfect for a person. "There is a tunnel behind it, connecting the caverns to your home. You can come to your dragons as often as you like, not having to brace the weather outside", he explained with a fond smile.

She turned the doorknob and a tunnel appeared behind the door as she opened it, just like Thranduil had described. It was short, and another door was visible at the other end. She closed the door and turned to him, looking pleased. "This is convenient. Thank you". The King nodded. "Now let me see how the dragons like it…" she said and walked towards the cart. The elves unloaded the cage, but were afraid to unlock it themselves. Daenerys approached them. "Give me the key", she asked of them. The keeper of the keys looked at his King, who followed behind Daenerys, and he gestured his permission. The key was handed to her, and soon the door of the cage opened. "Come out, my sweetlings", she coaxed the dragons to abandon their prison. "Here you will have all the space you need."

Drogon jumped out first, and his brothers crawled out right after him. They flapped their wings and swung their tails, causing the elves to step backwards in fear. "They will not harm you", she told them. "Unless you seek to harm them." The guards shook their heads, but preferred to keep their distance.

Then the Elvenking spoke. "Hand me the keys, and remove the cart. Make sure Daenerys' belongings are safely moved in the house. Then go and resume your positions. I have no further need of you here", he said, dismissing them.

As soon as the elves left, he turned to Daenerys and handed her the keys. "It was the best place we could find for you and the dragons."

"I know. For an abode far from you, it will have to do", she responded, locking her eyes with his.

He took a step closer. "What happened last night…"

She raised her hand, interrupting him. "I know what you are about to say. You think it was a mistake." Her voice was even, but there was pain hidden beneath the surface, and Thranduil sensed it.

"No. I meant to say that what happened last night will be cherished in my memory forever", he told her in a tone low and sad.

Her gaze flickered then like candlelight, and she threw herself into his arms, burying her face in the hollow of his throat. He closed his arms about her and held her to him, softly caressing her back. But Viserion screeched, forcing them to break apart and turn their attention back to the dragons. Daenerys left Thranduil and went to pet the cream-and-gold dragon. "What is it, my little one? Do you not like it here?" He wagged his tail and snorted a puff of black smoke in response. "Soon you will be free to fly, and hunt, and grow to be a mighty dragon, like your ancestors… Who will you be like, Viserion? Will you be like Meraxes, who was silver and gold-eyed? But no, poor Meraxes met an untimely end. You shall live to see me conquer the Seven Kingdoms."

The Elvenking went beside her. "Who was Meraxes? A dragon, I surmise? I was unable to understand all you said in Valyrian…"

Daenerys smiled up at him. "Yes, she was a great dragon. When Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, came to Westeros, they came upon dragons. Do you remember when I told you of him?"

"I do."

"Their dragons were Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes. Balerion was the largest, and black in color. Aegon rode him. Vhagar was Visenya's dragon, and Meraxes was ridden by Rhaenys. But they both died in war, when a scorpion bolt pierced the dragon through the eye, and they fell to their death from the sky", she narrated. "Such a sad story, is it not, Thranduil? Aegon lost his favorite Queen, and one of the three great dragons died."

"Yes, it is a sad story… But sadness and death are interwoven with life and joy. It seems one cannot exist without its opposite", he mused. "But come now, I would like to show you the house before I go."

She nodded, and made sure to lock the heavy iron gates before she followed Thranduil through the short tunnel. They came into a spacious room with two large windows and a hearth. A sofa and an armchair sat before the fireplace, and a small trestle table was in front of them. The living room was separated from the kitchen by a wooden wall, and a heavy, brocade curtain hung from the arched opening, serving as door. Daenerys pushed it aside and walked through, and looked at the kitchen. There was an oven and a large leather basket full of logs beside it. There were wooden shelves on the walls, and a long table with two benches in the center of the room. Various sacks were stacked against the opposite wall. She went and had a look at them, and saw that they were filled with flour, grains, nuts, and dried fruit. Plates, cutlery, cups, pots and pans were on the shelves, as well as jars and vials filled with various herbs and oils. A large window provided the room with ample light.

"Everything has been made ready. You shall want for nothing", said Thranduil, as he walked after her, quietly observing her as she explored her new home.

"I can see that. It is impressive. And I like the kitchen. It is large and sunny. But where is the bedroom?"

"I will show you", he offered, and led her to it. They walked out of the kitchen and towards the southern wall of the living room, which was the wall of the cavern itself. A staircase was carved in the rock, and it led upstairs. After their ascent, they emerged into a square room hewn entirely into the cavern, but for its wooden floor. A large bed took up most of the space, and against one wall was a wardrobe and a cabinet, while a fireplace was on the other. In the corner was a desk and a chair. The room even had a small balcony on the western side. The King stood by the door and asked her, "How do you like it?"

"It is pleasant enough", she answered him, noticing the thick carpet on the floor and the soft coverlets of the bed. The bed itself was canopied, and its posts were intricate and fashioned after leaves and branches.

"I did not want you to feel exiled, or as if taken to another prison", he told her.

"It will take me some time to adjust to my new quarters, but I already like them well enough", she said, but then turned to him with sorrow in her eyes. "It is not the house that worries me, Thranduil, but loneliness", she confessed. "And I doubt the guards will care to be much friendly, when there are three dragons inside the cave. I see how they despise them."

His countenance grew grim. "I understand. But it could not be helped. All I can promise you is that I will visit you as often as it is possible, and when it is not, I shall write to you. Your friends Luineth and Istuives may visit from time to time as well. They expressed the desire and I granted them permission, of course. You were not friendless in my Halls, Daenerys. And I would not have had you removed, had it not been for the great insistence of the council and the displeasure I saw in my folk daily", he explained.

"I know your reasons, and I do not say they are unjust. Were I Queen, I would do the same. Sometimes exile must be imposed on friends even…" she sighed, and took his hand. "Do not feel sorry for me. I know how to fend for myself", she told him with a weak smile.

"No… I admire you", he responded, giving her small hand a gentle squeeze, and looked deep into her violet eyes. His hand crept to her temple, and his thumb traced her cheekbone. "I will miss these captivating eyes of yours…"

Her heart fluttered and she shivered at his touch, but she did her best to keep her tears at bay. "As I will miss the starlight in yours", she whispered to him tenderly.

He wanted to bend and kiss her then, but he prevented himself from giving into his urge, for he did not wish to make parting more difficult for them both. "I have a gift for you", he said, and her gaze lit up with question. "Would you like to see it?"

"Yes…"

"Wait here then", he asked of her and quickly went for the stairs. In a few minutes he was back, holding a leather-bound parcel in his hands. "Here. I hope they will aid you in your search for a way back to your world."

Daenerys unfolded the leather, and three ancient tomes came into view. The script on their covers was almost faded, and the pages were yellowed, but their content seemed promising. "Of Hidden Truths", she read the title aloud, noticing that all three books were subdivisions of the same work.

"They belonged to my mother", said Thranduil. "She took them with her when we left Doriath, and Doriath boasted the largest library at the time. These books are very rare, written in the First Age by elves wise and ancient, who had seen the light of the Two Trees and knew the secrets of the Valar. As you can see, their subject is rather obscure – occult even. My mother was interested in such things… I have never read the books myself, and they had been gathering dust on my shelves for centuries now. Perhaps they will be of greater use to you", he concluded.

"They are a real treasure. I hope to find what I seek in their pages. Thank you, Thranduil", she told him and, placing the books on the bed, drew him into a warm hug.

He smiled at her reaction. "You are welcome", he murmured as he held her, inhaling her scent, while her warmth invaded his senses, rousing him. But he forced himself to disentangle from her arms, and he held her softly by the elbows. "Promise me that you will be safe here", he asked of her, and there was sadness and worry in his tone.

Daenerys understood then that this was goodbye. "You had better ask that of my dragons. If they will not keep their mother safe, then who will?" she replied, and sorrow lined her words as well, for though she had intended to lighten the atmosphere, her voice came through more melancholy than she had wished.

A small smile rose on his lips. "I would not bet against them", he said, and she smiled as well. "See that they enjoy the freedom they deserve… But take my advice and keep them away from the south, for there lies Dol Guldur, and the enemy will seek to subdue their will and bend them to his purpose. Keep them away from the north as well, else the dwarves of Erebor will know dragons roam Middle-Earth again, and the hatred they harbor for them in unmatched. East and west they may fly at will, and if they roast some orcs and spiders as they go, I will be all the more grateful", he told her, giving her a half-smile in the end, and she laughed.

"I will take your advice. We shall not cause you trouble when we can avoid it", she promised him.

The Elvenking looked at her and nodded with fondness in his gaze. "Gellon ned i galar i chent gîn ned i gladhog", he whispered to her.

Her smile grew sweeter, and she touched his shoulder, her fingers gliding over the rich fabric of his cloak to the exposed skin of his neck. It was cool and smooth, and she burned to touch him further, but knew she should not. Her memory of last night would have to suffice as her only consolation during the long days to come. "I wish I could smile more often for you", she sighed.

Her hand dropped then, to the regret of them both. He cast his eyes low and said, "Then this is farewell", taking a step back from her. "All I wanted to say, I have said. Boe annin mened… lest I yield to my yearning and never leave your side", he told her breathily.

Her eyelids fluttered. He had spoken sincerely to her, and she understood he had to do his duty, though his heart dictated elsewise. "Go then, if you must. But return to me, as you promised. I will look to that day and trust to hope."

"Unad nuithatha i nîr e-guren nalú aderthad vín", he told her, striving to keep his voice from breaking.

He gave her one last long glance, and then turned and hurried down the stairs, before his treacherous feet led him back to her arms. She watched his silver-blond head disappear, and after a moment heard the front doors closing. She rushed to the balcony and clung to its northern corner, and saw Thranduil mounting his elk. Beside him one of the guards that had accompanied them prepared his own steed as well. The King knowingly raised his eyes up to where she was standing, and a deep frown was upon his face. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and then he turned and rode off.

A sudden wave of loneliness and desertion flooded her heart, as deafening silence fell like a heavy mantle upon the place. She was still on the balcony, gazing forlornly into the distance, upon the trail Thranduil and his guard had ridden. Ever-green fir-trees swayed with the wind upon the slopes of the hills, but other than the rustling of boughs there was no other sound to be heard. Unwillingly, she detached herself from the railing and walked inside. Her eyes fell on the ancient tomes upon her bed. "Of Hidden Truths… It sounds as if a maester of Oldtown has written you", she murmured as she took the first volume in her hands and reverentially ran her fingers on the surface of its cover, examining it. The letters had been engraved in the hard cover, and traces of silver inlay were still visible. It looked valuable; Daenerys only hoped it would prove the same. "What secrets have you to reveal me, I wonder…" she mused, turning now the pages with great care. Thankfully, the ink was well-preserved. Her eyes skimmed through the lines, but she found she had no mind to read now. With a sigh, she set the book aside and slumped down on the bed. She noticed then that she was still in her riding attire, and it was dusty and uncomfortable. I had better get my things up here and change clothes, she thought.

Daenerys spent all the hours until the afternoon arranging her belongings and setting the house to her liking and convenience. It was clean enough, but she mopped the floors and dusted the sills nonetheless. She fluffed every pillow on the sofa and on the bed, and made sure both hearths had enough firewood readily available to last the night. Afterwards she stepped out with two buckets and carried in fresh water from the well. She left them in the kitchen, and went on to inspect the sacks and the jars more closely. She discovered there were potatoes, onions and garlics as well, and she decided to make a stew with them later. Now that she had no servants, she would have to take care of everything on her own. At first the thought worried her, for never in her life had she preoccupied herself with the mundane chores of the house, but then she took to liking the idea, for all this housework would give her something to fill her many empty hours with. So, after the kitchen was clean and orderly, she began peeling potatoes and chopping vegetables, while hunger stirred in her stomach. As she put the pot to the fire a little later, Daenerys thought of her dragons. They must be hungry too, my poor children. A look around told her that there was no meat to be found. They will have to hunt for themselves. These hills must be teeming with game, for sure. As soon as she made sure the stew had started to boil, she hurried along the tunnel and to the dragons' cave. The three winged serpents cried when they saw their mother. "I know you have gone hungry, my sweetlings. You will have to hunt for your meal. But I am forbidden to let you out all three at once", she told them sorrowfully, and they watched her with their large, glowing eyes. "Drogon", she turned to the largest dragon. "You will fly out, and bring something back to share with your brothers. Do not be mean and eat it all by yourself, for next time they may do the same to you. And do not eat my horse! Alright?" The black dragon puffed a bit of smoke and craned his neck towards her. "I know you understand me. Come now", she prompted him, and unlocked the doors. The dragon crawled out eagerly, splaying his wings. "Take now to the sky, and come back soon." Drogon kicked with his legs and batted his wings, and at once he was up in the air, letting out a screech of joy, which caused the two guards to gaze at him in awe and fear. But Daenerys smiled brightly, as she watched him circle above her thrice before he disappeared behind the peak of the hill, and she cared not for the cold wind that tousled her hair. For a while she forgot herself, and a sense of utter freedom overwhelmed her. Oh to, to soar high up in the sky, free and fearless! I wonder how the dragonriders of old felt, when they mounted their dragons and led them to battle, and when they breathed fire to their enemies below. Will you ever take me upon you back, Drogon? Will you burn my enemies, like Balerion charred Aegon's enemies to ashes? Her eyes watchedthe sun move lazily towards the west, painting the sky of late winter with all the hues of red. To a bloodred horizon I will fly, one day, and all will bend the knee before the Mother of Dragons, she mused, and her thoughts filled with imaginings of her future as the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

But then suddenly her stew returned to her mind, and all thoughts of greatness and glory were extinguished at once, as she rushed inside. Fortunately, it had been boiling smoothly, its texture already thickening. A smile crept upon her lips, as the smell of the soup made her mouth water. I never thought I could find joy in such simple things, she thought. She only regretted she had no bread to accompany her fine stew with. But then she eyed the flour sack in the corner. Perhaps I can make some bread tomorrow. She glanced once more at the pot, and after making sure it was boiling nicely, she walked to the living room, thinking to start a fire. Kneeling in front of the fireplace, she placed some logs in it and found the kindling materials. Soon enough a beautiful red fire was burning bright, as the last light of the day faded and night was now falling.

Just as she thought to take some rest, a loud shriek from outside signaled Drogon's return. Daenerys hurried outside only to see him land with a fawn in his claws, barely smaller than him in size. "You are a strong one, are you not now, Drogon?" she praised him, and his nostrils flared, letting out puffs of smoke. "Now you and your brothers can feed." She took him to the cave, and at once the other two dragons cried impatiently. Drogon crawled in with his prey, and he dropped it to the ground. Immediately flames bathed the dead animal, and the three beasts dug their jaws in it. Daenerys left them to feed undisturbed and returned to the kitchen. The stew was now ready, and she served herself a portion in a large bowl. An elven horn was then heard, and she glanced out of the window. It was the change of the guard, she realized, as the two elves rode off and two newcomers resumed their posts outside her yard. I had better get used to that, she thought with a sigh. Her attention returned to her dinner, and she carried her bowl with her to the living room and sank in the sofa. As she took the first spoonfuls she realized how tired she was. Savoring her stew – which admittedly needed a little bit more salt and pepper – she let the flames in the hearth lull her, and her thoughts drifted off.

Much had changed for her in a day's time. It was only yesterday when she had set out from Thranduil's Halls, and today she was to sleep in a different house, in a different bed. And she was all alone. But it did not feel as horrible as she had expected it to feel. Her day had been full, and quite rewarding at that. Even though she had been expelled from the King's Halls, she now had a home she could call her own. It was not luxurious, and she could ask for a hot bath to be prepared for her, but she decided that she liked it. It was warm and cozy, and in time she could make it look exactly as she wanted. She might add some flowers here and there, or a few more candles on the table…

And Thranduil had promised her he would visit her as often as he could. It was only a day's ride from his Halls; surely it would not take too long for him to come see her. Daenerys trusted him completely now. After he had opened her heart to her and revealed his terrible scars to her, she was assured that he trusted her unconditionally, and even her slightest doubts about him faded. But she did miss him. As she slowly climbed the stairs, heading to her bed, she could almost feel the traces of his presence. It was as if his bright aura had left its mark upon the place, making the air feel lighter and sweeter there. She sighed and smiled to herself. How did it happen that she fell for him? She had never intended that. All she wanted was to be treated civilly, and find a way out of this Middle-Earth. But the King of the Woodland Realm was not easily overlooked, and he had managed to strike an impression on her. An impression so vivid, that she came to care for him and desire him carnally. If only we had not stopped last night… she wished with longing. And if only he had lingered some more today, before he left… She started a fire in the fireplace and then crawled under the warm covers with thoughts of his kiss in her mind, as sleepiness descended upon her eyelids. If only we had shared more than a kiss.

Translations

Gellon ned i galar i chent gîn ned i gladhog = I love to see your eyes shine when you laugh (Sindarin)

Boe annin mened = I must go (Sindarin)

Unad nuithatha i nîr e-guren nalú aderthad vín = Nothing will stop the weeping of my heart until our reunion (Sindarin)