Chapter 8

March, Third Age 2968, Halls of King Thranduil

Cellissel sat in her garden, reading through old journals and humming absentmindedly. Thranduil had been good enough to give them back to her in hopes that they would help her with recovering her memory. So far they were a great advantage.

Blushing a little at a few of the entries that were specifically about her husband and herself, she set the journal aside, leaned forwards onto her knees and gazed into the pool of water that swirled across from her spot on the grass. She was starting to feel him in her mind once more and was sensing the bond strengthening each day they spent together.

Just like the ellon she had written about, Thranduil was everything she needed him to be as she recovered her memories. Instead of trying to force them back to being normal, like she had once suggested (that hadn't gone over well, for her husband would hear nothing of it), Thranduil had stubbornly insisted that he would just have to court her all over again until she was ready to be his wife again.

And court her he did.

They went on regular outings together, walking in the woods and talking about their day, their children and grandchildren, the kingdom and matters that troubled Thranduil or Cellissel. Thranduil would make her laugh, and she, in turn would repeatedly bring a genuine smile to his cool features until warmth radiated from his eyes and she felt like a giddy young elleth inside when she looked at him. Somehow she always ended up with his cloak around her shoulders by the end of the walk.

Other times Thranduil would take a morning off and they would ride together, or slip into the kitchens during an off hour and bake together. Both activities usually involved one or both of them covered in dirt or flour. In the late evenings, when the sky was clear, they would climb Thranduil's favorite tree near the hot springs and gaze at the stars, singing and talking until it was dawn and Thranduil had to return to his duties.

Some evenings they would spend in comfortable silence reading, writing or drawing as they sat tucked close together on the sofa in her freshly cleaned study, torch and firelight dancing on the wall murals.

Another smile bubbled to the surface and broke over Cellissel's face.

Oftentimes on those nights, Thranduil would lose interest in his usual pastime of drawing and instead fascinate himself with her hair, playing with and braiding it while she read. Cellissel found it immensely distracting and extraordinarily pleasant.

In just a few months they had retaken considerable ground, falling back into a comfortable friendship with deep seeded love and respect for one another. All this aside, Cellissel had to admit she was beginning to find certain other aspects of their relationship were...lacking.

The only remotely physically intimate acts he had ever done since beginning to court her she could count on two hands. He braided her hair at her request once, and since then did so without her asking, he offered his arm regularly when escorting her places, he would gently touch her shoulder or her back to get her attention, and once he had tenderly brushed mud from her cheeks. Thranduil was a perfect gentleman, and while she at times felt hints of what his heart desired through their mending marital bond, she also felt him clamp down upon them swiftly so that even the smallest thing like taking her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers got put to rest.

Initially she found that extremely reassuring. Now she was finding it maddening.

Yes, if she wanted him to hold her hand so badly she could just ask him to or if she really desperately desired him to hold her when they sat together, she knew he would at her request. However a girl really didn't want to have to ask. Somehow it seemed to take the romance out of it.

Sighing, Cellissel flopped back into the ground with her arms over her head, staring at the ceiling of the garden high above her. Returning had its challenges and she felt guilty that of all the things bothering her, this was the main thing. She was a Queen. She had duties to her people and she was growing anxious to take them on once more. Surely this matter was small and insignificant in the grand scoop of her life? She sighed again, unhappy that she couldn't shake how much she wished for the simplest of hand holding with her husband.

"You sound dismal." The lofty, lazily and cool voice of Thranduil brought an instant smile to her face and Cellissel cocked her head so she could see him from where she lay.

"I did not think I would see you until this evening!" Cellissel told him warmly, making him smirk as he came to join her on the ground, laying himself out more delicately than she had, ever conscious of his clothing.

"I escaped my keepers for a few hours." Thranduil told her, an edge in his voice hinting that the council meeting did not go well today.

"That bad?" Cellissel asked innocently, teasing him despite the compassion in her eyes as she turned her head to the side so she could look at him.

He was staring up, jawline tight as his mind went over the events of the meeting. "Yes. They squabbled about meaningless and trivial issues, bickering amongst themselves like children. I have half a mind to hold an election a few decades early in hopes of being rid of the worst of them. Too long in seats of power and they become arrogant."

Unable to help herself, Cellissel snickered.

"Yes, my Queen?" Thranduil growled, glancing at her with eyes that spoke only of tender love and relief that he was with her and not the council.

"Oh, just the irony of your last comment, my arrogant King."

A smile threatened to surface. "How else would I be able to recognize that they need to be brought down a notch?"

"Exactly." Cellissel laughed. She sobered, searching his face seriously. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"For now, no. Tell me of your morning!" A mischievous light sparked in his tone. "I sense there was something more to those sighs I heard a moment ago."

Instantly Cellissel looked away, which was a mistake because it only confirmed he was right.

"It was nothing."

"Hmm, that lovely color gracing your face would suggest otherwise." Thranduil pressed, clearly enjoying himself and his eyes laughed at her.

"I'm serious, Thranduil."

"Then look at me and tell me it was nothing."

Gritting her teeth, Cellissel looked at him and tried to speak without smiling. "It was nothing."

She succeeded briefly and then burst out laughing when he raised his eyebrows at her and leaned just a little closer, staring intently into her eyes.

"It was nothing? Are you sure?" He asked softly, a slow smile.

"Thranduil…stop." Cellissel begged. "Please, leave it alone."

"I will, but first, I need to tell you that as I walked here I got the very distinct impression you had something you wanted to ask me."

Cellissel slowed her breathing, caught in the blue of his eyes and that perfectly tender tone he was using. Her feelings must have leaked over their bond with her meaning for them to. "And what could I possibly want to ask you?"

"I am not sure. It was so muddled, I am uncertain I caught what you were looking for. Maybe I am mistaken." Thranduil told her quietly as his finger tips ran down the back of her hand, tracing round her digits until he had interlaced their hands gently.

The feeling of their hands together once more was like coming home for good, like all this time she had been wandering the yard and she was finally walking through the front door. There was so much rightness in the physical contact that Cellissel was overwhelmed with emotion and joy.

Biting her lips while fighting tears, Cellissel tightened her fingers around his as though she had no intention of ever letting go. She raised his knuckles to her lips and kissed them.

"You were not mistaken." She whispered, rolling to her side and hugging his hand to her just under her chin, then resting her head so that it just brushed his chest. He responded by also rolling to face her, tugging her closer and wrapping his free arm around her.

"I know." He whispered back, resting his chin on her head.

"Why have you waited so long?"

"Because you needed to be in control of this aspect, Cellissel, just like you always have from the day we fell in love."

"Thank you." Cherishing the safety she felt curled against him, Cellissel drew a long, shaking breath. "I missed you...I didn't realize how much until right now."

Thranduil tightened his hold, "I missed you too, more than words could express."

Closing her eyes, Cellissel paused. "Thranduil?"

"Yes, melleth?"

"Would you kiss me, please?"

Without hesitation, the arm wrapped around her receded gently, bringing his hand to cup her chin. Her face was lifted so that her lips met his in a soft, though not unpassionate kiss. Instantly she melted, utterly content, filled with warmth and happiness in the arms of the one she loved.

"Welcome home, my wife." Thranduil whispered, gazing at her with moist eyes and the biggest smile she had ever seen.

They stayed like that for a time, unaware of the world around them as they stared blissfully into each other's eyes, stealing soft kisses ever so often, letting their bond deepen within their minds and soul.

So quiet and barely moving they were that they went completely unnoticed by Merenith when she came in an hour later to tend the gardens, like she did every day. In turn, the girl was so uncharacteristically quiet and deep in thought when she entered the secluded garden that she also went unnoticed by the couple, until, that is, she spotted them and let out a horrified gasp.

Instantly she closed her eyes despite the fact that there was literally nothing to see other than her King and Queen sharing a chaste kiss.

Merenith didn't even wait to see Thranduil and Cellissel jerk up into a sitting position and spot her dashing off, nor did she hear them burst out laughing when they heard her wail softly, "I didn't see anything! I wasn't even here! I didn't even get up this morning! I'll never tease Emily again! Oh my gosh why does this happen to me!?"

With their moment interpreted, Thranduil turned to his wife, cupped her face once more to give her one last kiss, the pair of them utterly undeterred by what had just happened.

"I love you, and I could stay all day here with you." Thranduil told her.

"And I with you, however," Cellissel began to giggle and Thranduli couldn't stop himself from joining her. "I think perhaps if we stay we will have more people than just poor Merenith walking in. Your advisors are relentless hounds."

Making a face, Thranduil rose and then helped Cellissel to her feet as well. "They are indeed. Until later, my wife. Stargazing this evening? It looks to be the perfect evening."

"Of course. And you, will you survive your afternoon with pesky individuals?"

Thranduil laughed.

"Indeed, for I have sweet new memories to think upon when I wish to tune them out."

They walked from the garden, hands interlaced.

AN: Hope that was a good read. I thought it was cute, although I can be just a bit cheesy sometimes. lol.

Thank you everyone for your reviews. Ordinarily I like to try to reply to each one and thank you individually, however I don't seem to have as much time as I would like these days, so please just know I apricate your feedback and enthusiasm so much. I love writing these little snippets and it brings me joy to know that they have been enjoyed. As per usual, if you have requests let me know! I have been keeping track and been writing them down/slowing working on them :)