OK, i am so so so sorry for long it has taken me to upload this, but it seems the world has gone mad in the last few weeks.

To all my readers, i hope you are all staying safe during this unprecedented time and take some joy in this post.

Thank you for all the reviews, they are as always, the most lovely of things for me to read and i promise to be much more timely in posting more.

Enjoy my lovelies xx

Here we go, the big 5 - 0! haha

Chapter 50

Evie POV

Despite Evie sharing her experiences with Thranduil and Feren, it still took weeks to organise the trial for Lord Neldor.

As expected, about half the elven community didn't believe the whisperings that he had anything to do with the disappearance of their Queen.

The human prisoner, however, was viewed the same as the orcs of Gundabad and they did not hide their want for him to be removed.

The physical preparations were part of the reason that things had taken so long. The council had had to come with a place that was big enough to conduct the proceedings, along with a galley of such for the community to watch.

The great hall was deemed the only place big enough for such a thing and so the transformation had begun.

Deliberation between the council members that had taken more time to act on was the presence of an independent judge.

Those in the chamber who favoured Neldor believed that their great King was not impartial on the subject.

Having ruled the kingdom alone for centuries, Thranduil had not been pleased at the idea of inviting an outside into such a delicate and private event.

His tolerance level having already been at an all time low, the reaction to this had been to storm out and rage for days, going as far as taking off into his beloved forest without warning.

He had returned with a calmer head, understanding the point of view since it was his wife at the centre of the scandal, but not entirely happy to allow.

He had made it known that since these courtly proceedings were entirely unique, for they had never tried their own kind for such a crime before, that the rules were still going to vetted by him.

The independent judge would stay for the duration of the trial, but would not interfere in any other part of their community life.

The elf on trial would also not be given any special treatment before the trial, he was seconded to the dungeons, with leave for a wash the morning of.

These measures were agreed to and the discussion focused on who was an appropriate candidate. To Thranduil's displeasure, not because he would let Neldor off but because he found his philosophical lectures draining, the council chose Lord Elrond.

A letter was dispatched forthwith, with a replay returning in the positive almost immediately and then the trial date was set.

We fast forward 6 weeks to the morning of the trail and a very nervous Evie found herself in front of the mirror in their shared chamber her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she appraised her appearance.

Her once non-existent baby bump was now much more prominent, especially in the dress they had made for her.

The top bodice ending under her breasts and sleeves we made of a dark green velvet that offset her bright red curls beautifully as they cascaded down her back.

The skirt of the dress was made of a lighter green chiffon, so it hung perfectly down her slim frame and trailed behind her.

In the mass of curls sat her sparkling silver circlet, an article Thranduil had insisted she wear to show her status amongst the elves.

So distracted was she, that she was surprised by the arms that wound around her waist.

"Stop fidgeting, you look beautiful."

She couldn't help but smile into the mirror at the lovely words from her husband that had some magic effect of calming her nerves better than anything else.

Her breath caught in her throat at the vision of him behind her, clad in his kingly splendour of silver and dark blue.

The platinum blonde hair was impeccable as usual and finished off with his own crown of thorns.

She took one of the hands on her waist littered with rings of various colours and sizes to her mouth and placed a soft kiss to show her love and appreciation, even though his beaming smile reserved only for her, told her that he felt all those things down their bond.

"Will it be ok?"

"It will be a hard day for all of us, but we will get through it together and move on to our bright future."

As he said this, his hands moved to lovingly hold her swelling tummy, while he placed a kiss on her right cheek.

"Is Legolas alright?"

"He will be. Understandably upset that he can't attend, but there will be too many thing that aren't meant for small ears."

"Even if he is the Prince."

"Indeed. And we both know that if anything negative was said about you, he would not be able to retain his silence, something he will come to learn In time."

"But not yet."

"No. It is imperative we finish this as efficiently as possible. I am quite ready to be rid of it."

"That makes two of us."

"What did Elrond say?"

"Oh yesterday? The baby is perfect. No signs of anything amiss and a very strong fae."

"Of course, it's my child."

She laughed at this, almost snorting when she saw he was serious.

"Sure of yourself, aren't you? Great quality for a King."

"Normally I would agree with your sarcasm, but to keep your sanity ruling for such a long time, you find a bit of arrogance necessary."

"Yes, but there is a difference between a bit and well…you."

"I will make you pay for that comment wife, but right now it's time to go."

She felt disappointed when he let go of her, but was reassured that she wasn't alone when he engulfed her hand in one of his and pulled her along towards a day that would change the history of the elves of the Greenwood.

Thranduil POV

The majority of his people had not seen their Queen publicly for some weeks, firstly because of the abduction and then in preparation for circus that was about to unfold, so he was unsurprised by the speechless of the elves they passed as they saw with their own eyes the confirmation of another royal heir.

He felt pride at the way Evie held her head high as she walked into the great hall, not letting any doubt cloud the role she needed to portray today and squeezed her hand once so she knew he was there for her.

The walk up to their thrones felt like the longest in his life, the magnitude of the situation starting to settle on the Elvenking's shoulders as they acknowledged the councilmen, including Galion, Feren & Mithrandir, before taking their seats.

After the session with Evie & Feren, many parts of which had shocked him, he understood how very important it was for him to keep calm and retain his impassive facial expression during this process.

He stood to give the opening address.

"Today the Greenwood kingdom come together to bear witness to an event never before seen in our history. It is indeed a sad day for all of us, but with the help of our independent judge, Lord Elrond, who has graciously travelled from Imaldris, the truth will come to light for of us to see and justice will prevail."

During this he had turned and dipped his head in respect to the visiting leader and then turned back to continue on."

"Let us begin. Bring in the accused."

He remained standing while the side door was opened by the waiting guards and Lord Neldor was brought forth, two of Feren's warriors on each side armed to the teeth. The former Lord was dressed simply in grey, his long dark hair washed and clean, but hanging unadorned. The look on his face was one of devastation, which told Thranduil that this elf already knew he was guilty of his crime and would not cause any trouble.

It was the councilmen, such a Galion, that held such firm belief in the older elf's innocence, that he knew they would be in for a big shock when the details were shared. Especially when the elf in question did not deny it.

Thranduil stood stock still while the prisoner was lead right in front of him and bowed low. With a hand of dismissal, the Elvenking took his seat while the prisoner was moved to take his facing the Council and Lord Elrond.

It was then that Lord Elrond stood as the impassive leader in the trial and all held their breath as he spoke.

"As these circumstances are highly unusual, I ask you to keep an open mind as we progress through. All parties will have the chance to share their point of view and a decision will be made accordingly to the evidence provided. Queen Evangeline will start the proceedings, Your Majesty if you please."

Thranduil's heart went out to the beautiful woman that owned his heart and gave her hand one last squeeze before she stood and took her pace behind the lectern. He watched on as she thanked the elf that placed down the book of notes she was going to read from, took a steadying breath and began.

…

Never before In his life had he felt so drained. The trial itself had been rather straight forward, Evie had given her statement, Neldor had surprised his personal fanclub and the collective of elves by confession and then Lord Elrond had condemned the behaviour and executed his punishment: 500 years to be spent wandering the continent in isolation and then a one way ticket to the undying lands, where he would be tried and appropriate punishment given again.

No, that had been remarkably smooth, just as he thought it would be, he thought as he brought a glass of ruby red wine to his lips and took a big gulp. No, the hardest thing, which he thought he had been prepared for, was hearing his wife recount her ordeal again.

Every fibre of his being recoiled at the treatment she received and then being confirmed by the elder elf that reduced to tears at the part where he endangered the life of an elven child.

The whole court room had been uttered absolutely speechless when Evie had finished her tale, their sympathy and jubilation mixing at the prospect of another royal baby being imminent, but nearly not being so.

The shocked face of Galion when Neldor confessed had taken every ounce of strength for him not to laugh since the dark haired elf had fought tooth and nail for the former Lord. He committed every word spoken to memory:

"My Lords and ladies, I find myself in a position I never thought I ever would. The sacredness of an elven child has been drummed into me since my own birth. Many of you will be unhappy to learn that I did everything I could to protect this Kingdom and failed dismally.

Upon reflection, I now see that the grace of the Valar would not allow the joining of our King to a human woman without some reasoning. And that has become very clear. My actions shame me and my line and I fully confess to the crimes that I have been accused. Our darling Queen, a thousand apologies for my part in this and I hope by some miracle that you and our King will one day be able to forgive me. All the blessings of the Valar on the new heir."

The air had grown heavy later at the mention of the human currently residing in the dungeon awaiting his sentence and the crowd had called for blood, however, Elrond had done an excellent job calming them down and promising recompense by their King when the time was right.

That was another thought that made Thranduil take another drink as he relished in the solitude of his private study. Luke was a problem that unlike today, fell directly as his burden alone.

One part of him wanted to execute the fiend with his twin swords for the trauma he put Evie through, draw it out as long as possible for him to suffer and understand just want happens to those that insult the Greenwood royal family.

Another part of him, the part that belonged to his wife, said this was not the right course of action, for he did not want to become a monster reflected in her green eyes that he loved so much. He could understand the complexity of relationships and why Evie would struggle with this. Her humanity was part of the reason he was so drawn to her in the first place.

Still a punishment was necessary and he needed to decide on it soon. The months before the babe arrived would pass quickly and he wanted the human problem dealt with and firmly in the past by that time came.

His thoughts then turned to the beautiful red headed woman that he was so blessed to have in his life. She had stood with such grace and spoken unwaveringly to the audience that had been mesmerised by her words, especially when she spoke about the forest.

He could not blame her for wanting to seek comfort from Legolas after the conclusion of the day and he suddenly had the urge to be with his family.

Everything else could wait for now was his last thought as he strode from the room, the half empty wine glass forgotten on the mantle.

A/N: I do hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. I do apologise that it is quite descriptive and wordy, but writing out the trial word by word was just not working for me. The next chapter will be fluffy with out favourite little elfling. xx