Aragorn dismounted a horse. His escort followed his example and a moment later stood at the side of master. King of Gondor held out his hand to Arwen, who grabbed it and gently, with grace, jumped off a white horse. Aragorn looked ahead. On the large circular courtyard gathered a sizeable group of elegantly dressed elves who were looking curiously at visitors. At the head of gathering stood Legolas. He was dressed in a beige tunic. When he managed to catch Aragorn's eye, he grinned. King of Gondor returned the sign of friendship, took his wife by the arm and, accompanied by his escort, started going in the direction of the palace. He stopped only when a crowd of elves parted to reveal a high, glowing silhouette standing at the top of the stone stairs. Elvenking started to slowly descend the stairs. His long, green robe trimmed with gold and silver threads was shining in sunlight. A group of colorful butterflies encircled him. Aragorn has never seen something so charming, so magical. He was stunned and fascinated by the beauty of Elvenking. For a short moment he followed his every move. Only when Arwen placed a hand on his shoulder, he snapped out of reverie. ''Am I a victim of elvish spell?", he thought. He smiled a little to himself. No, that's impossible.
''Welcome to my thresholds, Aragorn, son of Arathorn.'', Thranduil bowed slightly. So did his subjects. Only Legolas didn't move. He stood straight, smiling. ''And you, my lady.'' King of the elves looked at Arwen, bowed his head. The woman smiled and curtsied.
''It is a great honor to be a guest in your palace.'', said Aragorn. ''Please, accept this humble gift.''
One of the guards from escort stepped forward and gave his master a small wooden box with a gold seal and beautiful ornament depicting two deers with silver antlers. King of Gondor gave Thranduil the gift and looked in the direction of Legolas, who smiled broadly.
Elvenking looked at the object lying on his palms. The elves standing around leaned in, curious of what was in the box. King opened the lid. Chest was lined with red satin. A beautiful silver ring with large square cut emerald that glistened in the sun was lying in the middle of the lining.
''What a resplendent gift. Thank you. Emeralds are my favorite gemstones.'', said Thranduil. He seemed to be really pleased. He took out the ring and put it on his finger.
''What a coincidence.'', laughed Aragorn. He looked at Legolas. It was obvious that the elven prince told his friend about his father's taste.
''Oh, yes, a really big one.'', an amused, melodious voice of Thranduil pierced through the air. For a brief moment, his eyes met with Aragorn's irises. Then Elvenking looked at the Arwen who was watching the whole situation with a small, warm smile on her lips. But even this nonverbal communique didn't cover a hint of fatigue visible on her beautiful face.
''Oh, where are my manners? You must be very tired. Please, let us go inside.'', said Thranduil. He made a hand gesture in the direction of the stairs.
After a few seconds they all went into the palace.
During the feast appointed by the king of the elves, Aragorn carefully described the purpose of his arrival. His intention was to establish a trade and military cooperation with the wood elves. At the urging of his son, Thranduil agreed to conclude an agreement and decided to let Aragorn and his wife stay in his palace for a little bit longer. However, he didn't know that royal couple and Gimli would remain in his house for much longer than they intended...
Elvenking looked at the dark pond covered in greenish duckweed. A few red fish with golden spots stopped close to where he stood, hoping that they will get something to eat. King of the elves, however, didn't have anything to feed the creatures. He turned around and walked toward the tree with extremely thick trunk. This tree has been growing in a cave for a long, long time - it was planted 500 years ago, when the servants of the king filled a big cavity in the cave floor with water, creating an artificial pond.
King placed his hand on thick, hard bark. Touch of the plants that were growing in his part of the forest, cheered him and let him get away from boredom and sorrows of everyday life. Yes, sorrows. King of the elves was sad. The long awaited return of his son didn't improve his mood. Although Legolas tried to spend as much time as possible with his father, Thranduil felt like it still wasn't enough. He didn't like the fact that prince, day by day, was hanging out with Gimli (who apparently didn't want to leave the palace). He felt betrayed, unwanted and, although his appearance didn't prove it - old. Oh, how much he would give to be able to travel around the world one more time... how much he would give to find a person who would disperse darkness of the royal life which chained him to the walls of mossy cavern by endless chain of responsibilities...
Thranduil sighed and walked around the tree. His long robe swept the moss which overgrown magically in the area around the roots. When the king stopped at the place where a big, gray stone was leaning against a bark of the tree, a small bird with red belly flew from one of the lower-lying branches. It sat on Thranduil's shoulder and began to tweet. Animals, plants of the forest… they all loved Elvenking, respect him and were able to talk to him.
Ruler gently stroked the little head of the bird. Creature tweeted, then it flew down and sat on Thranduil's hand. Its black eyes (which were resembling small beads) looked sadly at the ruler. Animal felt elf's melancholy. It tilded its head.
''You say, my little friend, that winter is coming? Yes, it is not a big consolation.'', smiled king. He was gentle and kind to such and extent only for his beloved animals.
''Such a beautiful smile. What a pity that it is so rarely seen by the subjects.'', suddenly a strong, loud voice echoed in the cave. Frightened bird flew away.
King of the elves turned around. In the narrow passage leading to the corridor heading towards the palace stood Aragorn. Thranduil said nothing. He lowered his head and looked sadly at a clump of grass growing between the long tree roots.
King of Gondor approached him.
''Please forgive my audacity. I did not want to say anything inappropriate.'', he said and smiled gently, apologetically.
Thranduil raised his head. His beautiful eyes sparkled with vivid blue light.
''Do not worry. I did not take it as something inappropriate.'', he said.
''That is good. In that case... would you like me to accompany you on your walk?''
For a moment, king of the elves examined Aragorn's face. Good manners, sophisticated words and gestures - king of Gondor was the complete opposite of Gimli.
''Yes, of course.'', a forced, barely perceptible smile formed on his lips.
They began their walk. Aragorn was curious about many elements visible in the cave, so Elvenking told him about the sculptures, plants and everything that aroused Dúnadan's interest . At one point, they stopped in front of a statue depicting Oropher, Thranduil's father.
''After the defeat of Sauron, forest became much calmer. I think I should thank you, and somehow compensate for all your hard work.'', said Elvenking.
Aragorn looked at the dignified, stony face of Oropher who held a bow in his left hand. Then he sat down on a boulder lying near a small rill dripping down the wall of the cave.
''Spending time in your palace, at your side, Your Highness, is a sufficient reward.'', he said. He stared at Thranduil's face.
King of elves turned his head to the left. Was it just his imagination, or Aragorn's words had a subtext? For the first time in his long life Elvenking felt uncomfortable.
''These words are really nice but consider the fact that I am not special. I do not think that associating with me is something amazing.'', he said rather coldly.
Aragorn shook his head.
''Your father…'', he looked up, into Oropher's stone eyes. ''…was someone special, brave, you are special too, Your Highness. The same goes for Legolas.''
''Being a son of someone special does not make you special.'', said Thranduil.
King of Gondor laughed loudly.
''Maybe, maybe not. But after all, I dare say that you, my lord…'', he started.
Suddenly, a voice of one of the Aragorn's guards came from the depths of the cave:
''My king? Lady Arwen calls for you!''
Aragorn stood up.
''Excuse me. Duty calls.'', he said with a slight amusement. When Thranduil nodded, King of Gondor walked away, leaving his interlocutor at the mercy of the besetting thoughts.
