The Return

Disclaimer: All belongs to Tolkien except for my characters Roslyn and Maethor – they are my own creations and are not meant to resemble anyone else's OCs in any way.

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! Now, just as a preemptive strike against all you Tolkien purists, I know that elves sleep with their eyes open! But I personally find it super creepy and since this is my story, they're going to sleep with their eyes closed lol.

Chapter 3: Cold

Thranduil sat in the dark kitchen, still staring at the door that Roslyn had exited through. He didn't know what had come over him. His lips tingled and he felt his heart tug. As much as he wanted to deny it, the kiss had felt so right, like finally coming home.

…

Roslyn awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She felt nervous and excited but she didn't really know why. She dressed in a beautiful dark cobalt blue dress and made her way down to breakfast.

As she walked in she noticed that Thranduil was still missing. Smiling to herself, she took her usual spot just to the right of his chair. Not a moment later, Tauriel and Maethor walked in together, seating themselves directly across from her. Roslyn looked up at her friend, noting the small goofy smile on her lips.

She ate quietly as she observed the two. Truth be told, a small part of her felt jealous as she watched the fleeting touches and stolen glances. Every time Tauriel looked away, Maethor would stare at her – her face, her hair, her hands. Finally he reached out his hand and twirled a single lock of her hair around his finger. He tugged at it gently as she turned to face him. A small loving smile broke out on his lips as he let her hair slip through his fingers. The moment seemed so intimate that Roslyn was suddenly embarrassed to be witnessing it.

They really do love each other.

Excusing herself from the table, she pushed her chair back and walked out. Wandering the halls she suddenly found herself at the archery range. It had been some time since she'd held a bow. So she walked out to try her hand once more.

…

Thranduil lay in bed, his face buried in a mountain of pillows. Slowly he cracked open an eye. He groaned at the sun streaming in through the window.

Ugh. I don't remember the last time I slept this late.

He turned his face away from the window and tried to find just a few more moments of blissful unconsciousness. His mind felt hazy and he suddenly wondered if Roslyn had been a dream. He sighed as he gave up on trying to get any more sleep. Throwing back the covers, he got up and walked into the bathroom.

…

With all that kickboxing I should be stronger! Why can't I get this damn bow back enough! It's like I just forgot everything.

Roslyn went to throw the bow down in frustration but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She jumped, slightly startled. Whirling around she found Thranduil staring down at her.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to alarm you."

"Thranduil. I-I was just leaving."

He cocked his head at her, "Giving up already?"

She bristled at his comment, "I am not giving up. I'm just…taking a break."

"Do you want some help?"

"No."

His trademark smirk curled his lips, "Are you quite sure?"

Roslyn hesitated a moment and that was all that he needed.

"Come, take the bow again."

She looked at him doubtfully before doing as she was told. He stepped behind her, just like he had so many months ago. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as he embraced her in order to position her properly.

"Déjà vu?" he whispered into her ear, making her shiver involuntarily.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but their entire hour-long lesson seemed to be filled with innuendos and touches at every opportunity. At first she was tense, not sure what he was trying to do. But she soon found herself relaxing, even enjoying his light flirting. It suddenly felt like they were back to how things were before everything got complicated between them.

Take it for what it's worth. Don't overthink it.

"We should probably stop for now. You'll get blisters if we keep going much longer."

Roslyn looked at her hands, frowning slightly.

"I think I already am," she mumbled.

Thranduil took the bow and quiver from her and went to replace them in their proper storage.

"Hey, do you think…we could do this again?" she called after him.

He turned to look at her and watched as a small, embarrassed flush crawled up her cheeks. He smiled inside, suddenly keenly aware of how much he'd missed seeing that adorable blush grace her face.

"Of course."

Roslyn grinned at him before practically skipping back inside.

…

It had been many weeks now since she'd returned to Mirkwood. She and Thranduil seemed to have reached some sort of unspoken truce. On the outside they were friends, constantly flirting with each other. But as Roslyn sat on the windowsill and watched the rain pound down, she wondered what their true relationship was. She reminded herself of what he'd done to her every chance she got, lest she should forget and let herself fall for him again.

The flirting is fun, but don't forget to stay detached. Your time here is limited.

She got up and walked out into the hall. She wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, bored and not knowing what to do with herself. Tauriel was out on patrol and she couldn't go out into the gardens or the archery range.

She suddenly paused as she reached Thranduil's chambers. There were so many interesting books inside.

Surely at this point he wouldn't mind? Right? Right.

Roslyn looked about herself, suddenly feeling guilty, but no one was around to see her. Trying the doors, she found them unlocked as usual. She walked inside and closed them quietly behind her. She paused for a moment to take everything in. It all looked the same and she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her.

Smiling to herself she walked over to the bookshelf and picked out something to read. Looking in the corner, she found the fire already burning. So she seated herself in her favorite chair and began to read. Maybe thirty minutes later she heard the doors open.

"Well that didn't take long. I guess old habits die hard."

"I didn't think you'd mind," she said without looking up.

"How presumptuous."

She finally glanced at him and watched as he tried to hide the half smile breaking out on his face. She smiled to herself as he walked into his bedroom, only to emerge a moment later with his own book in hand. Roslyn stared at him as he sat down in the chair beside hers. Propping his feet up on the coffee table he leaned back and cracked open the book. She continued to gawk at him in shock.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"What are you doing?"

He looked at her through the corner of his eye, "Reading. Obviously."

"Yes, but…you never…" she trailed off, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

His eyes went back to the page without a word. Slowly, Roslyn returned to her own book as well. And so they sat there, reading together for the first time. The only sounds coming from the crackling fire and the rain outside.

…

Roslyn finally set her book down and stretched. It felt like they'd been sitting there in silence for hours.

"I'm bored."

Thranduil looked up from his own book, "I'm sorry?"

"Teach me some more tricks."

He arched an eyebrow at her suggestively.

She rolled her eyes at him and laughed lightly, "I mean with the bow and arrow! Give me another lesson!"

"Right now? Have you taken a look out the window?"

"It's letting up. Come on," she pouted, "stop being such a prissy baby."

"I am not prissy," he glared at her.

She got up saucily, "Then come prove it."

Thranduil stood, accepting the challenge.

…

Roslyn stood outside, trying her best not fall in the mud. She gripped the bow with her left hand, pushing her sopping hair out of her eyes with the other. She glanced at Thranduil over her shoulder. He stood a few paces behind her and gave her an encouraging nod. Notching her arrow, she took aim. But the rain made the bowstring slippery. She let go of it prematurely and the arrow tumbled to the ground.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Thranduil called.

Roslyn glowered at him as she reached down to the ground and pulled a new arrow out of the quiver. She notched it and pulled back hard, hoping if she let it loose quickly enough it would actually fly.

But her fingers were getting stiff from the cold and once more she lost her grip, the bowstring lashing back against her hand. Roslyn yelped and jumped back in surprise, dropping the bow in the process. She suddenly found herself losing her footing on the slick grass.

Seeing what was happening Thranduil shot forward to catch her. But he too slipped from the rain. He managed to get his arms around her and pulled her close as they both tumbled towards the ground. Roslyn landed on top with a thud, the Elven king breaking her fall.

"Oof! Ohh, I'm so sorry! I'm always so clumsy. Are you alright?"

A low chuckle broke through Thranduil's lips and reverberated through her body.

"I should have learned by now to expect some sort of accident from you."

(Love Will Come Through – Travis)

She scowled as she pushed against his chest, trying to free herself. But instead of letting her go, she felt him tighten his grip on her waist. Roslyn gazed down at him. His beautiful platinum hair was covered in mud and little splatters littered the sides of his face. And yet she found him incredibly sexy. Suddenly, all that she wanted to do was to kiss him. And so she did.

She had promised herself to stop overthinking everything and for once, during this trip, she would let herself have what she desired. So she slowly bent her head down and pressed her lips against his. She was always surprised at just how soft they were.

His mouth was pliant and gave in to her without much of a fight. Her kiss was undemanding and innocent, yet it immediately set a spark of desire aflame inside him. Before she knew what was happening Thranduil had rolled them over.

He kissed her deeply, his body pressing her into the cold, wet ground. She responded to him immediately, feeling a tingle of desire in her core. The rain was starting to pick up again and it pounded down on the couple, but neither one cared.

Roslyn let him nudging her legs open with his knee. He settled down between them and pressed into her more fully now, letting her feel just how hard he was already. She whimpered slightly as his lips moved to her jawline.

"What if someone sees us?" she asked breathlessly.

He pulled away for a second to look down at her face, "Isn't that half the fun? Taking that risk?"

She felt herself instantly grow wet at his words, surprised by her own reaction. His smug smile had never been sexier to her than it was in that moment. Thranduil bent his head down again and began to kiss her senseless, pleased by her reaction.

His hands ran up and down her body. He gripped the skirt of her dress and began to drag it up. Roslyn felt his fingers, slightly cold from the rain, as they skimmed up her thigh and under her dress. Suddenly feeling anxious she pulled away from him as best as she could.

What the hell are you doing?! Have you completely lost control of your senses?! What happened to staying detached? This can't happen now, not like this. Not when you're emotional. You're not ready.

She pushed on his chest lightly, catching his attention. Thranduil pulled back and looked at her, confused.

"S-stop. I…we can't do this. I need to go inside. I'm sorry, but I just can't."

She watched as his face softened. He rolled off of her and allowed her to get up. Roslyn stood there for a moment, suddenly realizing the full chill of the autumn rain. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold and vulnerable.

"I should go inside, I don't want to get sick."

Thranduil kept his eyes locked on her, noting the blue tint to her lips as he nodded in response. Roslyn finally turned and walked out of the archery range. She rang her hair out as she slowly made her way back to her room. She was shivering now, the cold air of the hallways chilling her to the bone.

She suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind her. Before she could turn around, she felt Thranduil gently grip her elbow. She looked up at him, brows furrowed.

"You are right. You need to get warmed up before you catch a cold."

"W-what about you? Aren't you worried about getting sick?" she managed to ask through chattering teeth.

He gave her an indulgent smiled but didn't answer.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my chambers. They're closer."

"What? T-t-they're like two steps c-c-closer!"

She watched his lips twitch as he gently pushed her through his doors. He was leading her through the antechamber and to his bedroom now.

"Yes, but my bath is much larger."

Roslyn stopped by his bed and stared at him confused. Wordlessly he pulled off his boots and his wet tunic. He began to undo the strings on his leggings when she finally found her voice.

"W-w-what are you doing?!" she cried in alarm.

"Well I might not get sick, but I don't enjoy being wet and dirty either."

With that he pulled the leggings off. Roslyn stood there, completely dumbfounded. Thranduil approached her slowly. He stopped just a few inches from her and reached for the laces of her dress. She wrapped her arms around herself again and took a step back, still not sure of his true intentions.

"Come," he said softly as he reached for her again, "don't be scared. It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before."

Thranduil pulled the ties loose and gently pushed the dress off her shoulders. She was left in nothing but a pair of wet lace panties. He bent down and pulled those off as well. Taking her hand lightly in his, he led her into this bathroom. Roslyn didn't have it in her to fight anymore. She was so cold she couldn't stop shaking. So she let him lead her slowly into the steaming hot spring.

Pushing her head down slightly, he helped her dunk under the warm water. She came back up and wiped the water from her face, watching as he submerged as well.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-so c-c-c-cold," she told him, struggling to get the words out.

Wordlessly, he pulled her against him. He ran his hands up and down her arms and back, trying to warm her up.

"I'm t-t-t-tired."

"I know," he murmured against her hair, "but let's get you warm first."

Thranduil led her to the back of the little pool and sat down on the underwater ledge. He pulled Roslyn down into his lap so that the water nearly reached her chin. She laid her head against his chest and let him continue his ministrations.

Some time later, he finally felt her stop shivering and saw the color return to her face. Slowly getting up, he guided her out of the water. She stood there meekly as he dried them both off with a towel. Still feeling unbelievably exhausted, Roslyn let him direct her into his bed. Thranduil quietly crawled in beside her, pulling her close. She sighed from the comfortable heat his body gave her and finally let her eyes drift shut.

A/N: Hope you all liked it. Please review!