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: Well I'm really happily surprised by all your reviews! I was kind of afraid you all wouldn't like the last chapter! Anyway, this one turned out super long, maybe the longest one I've written. But there's NO WAY I was going to cut out a single bit of it ;)

Chapter 7: The Words Left Unspoken

Taking a deep breath, Roslyn stepped outside. She squinted momentarily as the brilliant late autumn sun blinded her. Smiling to herself, she grabbed the ear buds and popped them in. She looked up and noticed the guards watching her. Feeling uneasy under their scrutiny she began to walk out towards the river, iPod in hand.

She flicked it on and pushed Play, not particularly caring what playlist it was on. Roslyn smiled to herself as Chemicals Between Us by Bush started to play. She continued to walk, letting her pace quicken until she was finally at a jog. She didn't have to turn around to look, but she knew Tauriel was right behind her.

For several long moments she did nothing but run and listen to the music. She felt her mind begin to settle and a determination set in. She needed to figure out what she really wanted. And to finally be completely honest with herself.

She felt her stomach churn.

I still love him. Come on…you never stopped loving him. You were a fool to think you could do this dumb friends with benefits thing. But are you brave enough to tell him how you feel? Would it make any difference?

She continued to plow ahead, her feet pounding the grass underneath them.

He HAS seemed different lately – more open and caring. But maybe I'm just imagining things. Just seeing what I want to see. I thought there was something there last time. Obviously I was very, very wrong.

She felt frustrated and confused again.

Where's a good punching bag when you need one?!

She felt her blood pumping in her veins. The adrenaline was building so she moved her legs faster. Out of Control by Hoobastank came on and only spurred her to push herself harder.

You need to just tell him. Just spit it out and then the ball is in his court.

The anxiety twisted her heart.

What if he rejects you again?

Faster, faster, faster. Her lungs were starting to hurt but she kept going. She needed this.

You are strong! If he doesn't want you after everything then you can go back home knowing that it just wasn't meant to be…

Her pace was starting to slow. She'd been running for at least half an hour now and she was ready to turn around.

"Ooof! What the hell?!" she cried out as she felt Tauriel shove her.

Roslyn spun around to yell at her friend when she felt something whirl by her head. Her eyes grew wide as she watched Tauriel fend off two orcs at the same time with her daggers. A third orc set his bow down and stalked towards her.

Roslyn's fists went up. She was ready for this. The adrenaline still pounded through her as the ugly, leering orc approached her.

"What do we have here? A little human girl?" the orc hissed.

He reeled back from the shock of her kick, not expecting it. He snarled and threw himself at her. One, two. Jaw, temple. He stumbled backwards again under her assault. Roslyn smirked.

He's too big and clumsy. You got this girl!

From the corner of her eye Roslyn could see that Tauriel had already slain the two orcs she had been fighting earlier. A new one had emerged from somewhere and she was making short work of him as well. Turning her attention back to her own adversary she watched as he circled around her, looking for an opening.

He took a step to the left and she went to block. But it was a fake. She felt his large hand come down on her face as he backhanded her forcefully. She fell, unable to keep her footing from the force of the attack. Her forehead scraped against a rock and blood began to gush immediately, but she did not notice.

No. Not again. This is not going to happen again.

She rolled to her right as his foot came down on the spot where she had been just a second ago. Pushing herself up, she stood in her defensive position again. She swayed slightly, feeling off balance for a moment. A cold trickle of fear filled her insides as she looked over at Tauriel again. More orcs.

Where the hell are they all coming from?!

The orc was charging her again. And then suddenly he stopped. An elegant elven arrow stuck out of his chest, directly through his heart. He looked confused for just an instant. And then he was dead on the ground. Roslyn sighed in relief as the Mirkwood guards jumped out of the trees, taking care of the remaining orcs.

In a second, Tauriel was upon her, grabbing her arm and pulling her along. She seemed panicked. Roslyn couldn't comprehend why. She was elated, still hyped up on the adrenaline.

I kicked ass!

"Roslyn, come on! Stop dragging your feet! We have to get back to the safety of Thranduil's halls!"

"But we're fine! The guards are here!"

Tauriel threw her a dirty look.

"You have no idea how much trouble we are in."

"Oh he's going to kill me!" she whined.

"No he won't. I'll tell him it was my fault. I was the one who wanted to go running."

"It doesn't matter. I let you. And now you're hurt!" she looked at her anxiously.

"I'm hurt?"

"Roslyn, your head is bleeding!"

The gate was in sight now and Tauriel let out a breath of relief. Cautiously, Roslyn brought her fingers up to her forehead. She looked at them, not comprehending what she was seeing. Red. A lot of red. Her head was finally starting to throb, as was her cheek.

"Tauriel," she moaned, "I don't like blood!"

"I know, I know," she said hurriedly.

She pushed Roslyn's hand down.

"Don't look at it. Come on, let's get you to the healers."

"Not a word!" Tauriel growled to the guards at the gate.

She ushered her friend down the hall as quickly as she could.

"Are you hurt too? Tauriel? Are you ok?"

"Oh I'm fine."

"For now," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Roslyn looked at her curiously.

"Nothing. Come on."

She pushed her into one of the healing rooms before calling for help. In no time, there were two healers attending to her. Roslyn sat on the edge of the bed as they fussed over her. She swallowed the lump of anxiety in her throat, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. She shuddered at the thought of how pissed Thranduil would be.

"Tauriel, you should go."

Tauriel looked at her apologetically.

"Really, I'm fine. And you need to go. Before he gets here."

"I'm so sorry Roslyn."

"Please, go. I don't want you to get into trouble."

With one more remorseful glance, Tauriel whirled around and exited the room. Roslyn continued to sit on the bed as one of the healers cleaned her forehead. She winced slightly at the pain.

Without warning, the door flew open with such force that it hit the wall and came hurling back. Thranduil's arm shot out to catch it before it could hit him in the face. Roslyn jumped nearly a foot in the air. Her hand flew to cover her now racing heart. She watched as he stormed into the room in a complete rage.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" he yelled at her.

She shrunk back from him, averting her gaze to the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly, "I just needed to get out. All I wanted was to run and burn off some steam. I was going crazy in here."

"Clearly! Do you have any idea how many lives you endangered?! Including your own!"

She chanced a glance at him. He looked so mad that she immediately looked away, feeling ashamed.

"Where is Tauriel?" He ground out through his teeth.

Roslyn's head shot up at his question.

"No! You leave her out of this. None of this was her fault!"

"She should never have allowed this!"

"Allowed this?! What the hell does that mean?! I'm an adult! I make my own decisions! And Tauriel didn't want me to go! But she knew I was going to anyway. So she went with me. If it wasn't for her I probably would be dead."

"That does not make it better! She should have reported it to me!"

"Oh? And what would you have done?!"

"I would have forbidden you leaving!"

Roslyn laughed coldly.

"Forbidden me?! Like that would have made any difference! I'm not one of your subjects! You can't command me like that," she turned her face away from him with a huff.

She was laughing at him, right in his face. And it made his blood boil. Couldn't she see how worried he'd been about her? He grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. Roslyn yelped, her face sore from the earlier assault. Thranduil blinked, letting his grip loosen immediately. His eyes roamed her face, taking in the large bruise covering the left side of her face and the gash on the right of her forehead. He felt his anger dissipate.

Roslyn tore her chin out of his light grasp and turned her face away again. She felt tears sting her eyes as her face throbbed painfully. The healer had been wise enough to leave the two alone during their screaming match, but she returned now with a paste in her hands. Taking an applicator, she rubbed a small amount of the substance into the gash.

"Ow!" Roslyn cried as she recoiled from the healer's touch.

"Forgive me my lady. This will sting but it must be applied to disinfect the wound."

Thranduil moved to Roslyn's left to get out of the healer's way. He faced the back wall and gazed out the window, trying to rein in his emotions.

Roslyn watched as the healer glopped on an especially large amount of paste onto the applicator. She braced herself but the pain was unbelievable. She cried out, her hand shooting out to grab whatever she could for support. Her fingers squeezed hard as the sharp pain radiated through her head and down her neck.

The pain began to ebb away and she opened her tear-moistened eyes. Looking down, she realized that she had grabbed Thranduil's hand. She immediately dropped it, feeling embarrassed.

"S-sorry," she mumbled.

Thranduil stared down at her hand. Slowly, he laced his fingers through hers and squeezed gently. Roslyn looked over at him in shock. Her eyes shut and she clutched onto him as more paste was applied.

"Here."

The other healer had returned and was now holding out for Thranduil a large bag of ice wrapped in a towel. He looked at her questioningly.

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Hold it up to her cheek. Unless you want her face to swell?"

He huffed. Turning around, he sat down on the bed beside Roslyn and took the ice from the healer. Gently, he pressed it up to her cheek. He felt her squeeze his hand again and his heart fluttered. This was new to him – being someone's comfort and support. He found himself relishing the feeling. A surge of male pride ran through him and he suddenly felt the strong urge to always be her protector.

"There. All done," said the healer as she pressed a bandage to Roslyn's forehead.

"Now, you should probably spend the night here. You hit your head pretty hard."

"No," she protested, "I don't want to stay here."

She turned to Thranduil, appealing to him for help, "Please?"

He looked over at the healer.

"She needs to be observed tonight. To make sure she's ok."

He looked back at Roslyn's pathetic pout, unable to resist her.

"What if I keep an eye on her?"

"Oh?" the healer looked taken aback.

Roslyn's eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

"So I'd have to stay the night with you?"

She saw a small smirk tug at his lips.

"It would seem so."

Roslyn rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, I suppose that would be alright. You should keep icing her cheek on and off for a few more hours. Any severe headaches or vomiting and you bring her right back."

"Very well," he finally let go of Roslyn's hand and stood up.

"Come," he beckoned to her.

Standing up slowly, she followed him out into the hall. Both of them missed the large grins that had spread over the healers' faces.

…

Roslyn stood uncertainly in Thranduil's antechamber as he closed the doors behind them. She didn't know what was wrong with her.

Why am I so nervous?

"Well? Are you going to come in or are you just going to stand there?"

She looked over at him, waiting for her in the doorway to his bedroom. Anxiously, she walked towards him, the icepack still pressed to her cheek.

"I want to take a bath," she told him.

And a heartbeat later, "Alone. Don't look so smug."

He chuckled lightly, "You know where the bathroom is."

"Give me something to change into that I can sleep in," she demanded.

He gazed down at her through his lashes before walking over to his wardrobe and pulling out a dark blue tunic. He handed it to her and watched as she walked towards the bathroom.

"I like that outfit by the way," he purred, eyes glued to her legging-clad ass.

"I'm sure you do!" she called from the other room.

He grinned at her response. Hearing the water splash as she got into the hot spring, he turned away and walked back out of his chambers to call for some dinner for them.

Some time later, Roslyn finally emerged from the bathroom. The fabric of Thranduil's tunic was incredibly light and soft. It was just long enough to brush the middle of her thighs. She looked around, but the bedroom was empty. Cautiously, she walked over to the doorway and gazed out into the antechamber.

Thranduil stood there, examining some of the books in his collection. Picking one out, he turned to face her. He felt his heart clench at the sight of her – hair wet, legs bare, nothing on but his tunic. He cleared his throat as he felt himself stirring.

Now is NOT the time! Get a hold of yourself. He scolded himself.

"I had some food brought up for us," he nodded towards the bed.

Roslyn turned around and looked at the large tray of food.

"Thank you! I was so hungry!" she cried.

She turned around and ran over to the bed. Climbing under the covers, she propped some pillows up and leaned back against them. Thranduil smiled at her antics. He laid his book down on the table by the bed and began to undress. Roslyn sat there eating and watching him.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting into bed?"

"You're getting naked."

"I sleep naked," he smirked at her.

"Of course you do," she deadpanned.

"It's not like you haven't seen it all before," he whispered to her.

Roslyn blushed lightly.

"Where's my ice?"

"Feeling a little hot?"

"My cheek hurts," she glared at him.

Thranduil walked over to his desk and lifted the bag up.

"It's really more like cold water at this point."

He handed it to her and then crawled under the covers, making himself comfortable beside her. They sat there and ate in a comfortable silence.

"Ugh, you're right. It's just water," she finally admitted.

Removing the bag from her face she stretched her arm out, trying to hand it to him.

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"I don't know. Put it somewhere."

Thranduil rolled his eyes and tossed the bag onto the empty tray. Getting up, he carried it out to the table in the antechamber. He walked back into the bedroom and locked the doors behind him. Roslyn put her pillows back and settled down in the bed. A moment later, he had joined her.

(Made For Us – Mackintosh Braun)

Relaxing back, he grabbed his book and began to read. Roslyn turned over onto her side and gingerly pressed her cheek into the pillow. She watched him carefully for a few minutes, not quite ready to fall asleep yet.

"Are you sleeping with her?" she couldn't help herself as the words slipped off her lips.

Thranduil set his book down in his lap and looked over at her in shock.

"With who?"

"Reina. Or whatever her name is. Arwen's handmaiden."

"Definitely not. Why would you ask that?"

"Oh. Well…are you sleeping with anyone else?"

She didn't know why she was suddenly asking him these questions. But the moment felt so quiet and intimate between them, she hoped he would tell her the truth. Thranduil sighed as he closed his book and set it back down on the table. He turned towards her, propping up on his elbow.

"No," he paused for a moment as his eyes searched her face.

"For the longest time now, it's just been you," he whispered.

And then, "It's always been you."

He ran his fingers through a lock of her hair as his eyes flicked to her lips.

"Kiss me," Roslyn begged him quietly.

He smiled at her softly. He completely tangled his fingers in her hair and ran them down from her scalp to the ends, petting her head gently.

"I shouldn't. You're hurt and you need to rest."

"Thranduil…please. Kiss me. I need you to kiss me."

For whatever reason, she suddenly felt a storm of emotions whirl inside her. She just needed him in that moment. And he was more than willing to give her whatever she asked of him.

Leaning down slowly, he kissed her softly on the lips. He paused for a moment but did not pull away. Roslyn felt her heart beat painfully in her chest as she looked into his eyes. He pressed his lips into hers once again. The kiss was relaxed and sensual, sending butterflies and tingles all the way to her core.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she brought her hand up and pressed her palm against his naked chest. He was so warm, and she could feel his heart thudding beneath her fingers.

Thranduil pulled back slightly and gazed at her as she ran her hand down his body. He sucked in some air as he felt her fingers brush his erection. He looked at her warily through his lashes, unsure of how she would respond to his arousal. Given the situation, he did not want to push her or make her feel pressured.

His eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he felt her hand wrap around him and squeeze his cock. Swallowing hard, he forced his breathing to slow down. He reached down and gently pulled her wrist away.

"Roslyn, what are you doing?"

She licked her lips and locked eyes with him. She did not answer, but instead pressed her hips into his.

"You need to rest," he told her again.

"I'm not tired."

She pulled her hand from his grasp and brought it up to his face. Thranduil observed her as her fingers traced his features. She finally cupped his face and stretched over to him, kissing him desperately. She grabbed his hand and guided his fingers to her core, letting him feel how wet she was. His cock throbbed at Roslyn's actions and he felt his resolve break.

His fingers ghosted over her opening and pressed slightly into her clit, earning him a low moan of pleasure. His hand moved over to rest on her hip, his thumb running maddening circles over her skin. Thranduil felt a sting of pain as she yanked down on his hair, frantically pleading for more. He only grew harder.

His large hand splayed out over her lower back and finally drew her body to his. He grabbed her ass and let his hips grind against hers. Roslyn nipped on his lower lip in response. Thranduil growled, painfully aroused by all her actions. He turned his head and kissed her deeply, his hand running up and down her back.

"Ohhh, Thranduil," she mumbled softly against his lips.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He needed to be inside of her or he was going to go out of his mind. In one fluid movement, he had rolled her over onto her back. She lifted her arms up as he pulled his tunic off of her. He kissed her hard, like she was his air, as his body pressed her into the mattress.

Roslyn's knees came up and she ran the sole of her foot up and down his calf. He grabbed her hips to hold her still. Pulling back slightly, they locked eyes as he entered her slowly. They cried out together, the sensation more intense than either one had ever felt.

Thranduil stilled for a moment, neither one wanting it to be over so soon. Finally, Roslyn wrapped her legs around his waist and locked them at the ankles. Taking that as his cue, he began to move inside of her. The room filled with gasps and soft sighs as he thrust into her, slow and hard. She felt him grip her left thigh as he angled them better.

"Ahhh!" she cried out at the new sensation.

She closed her eyes as wave after wave of ecstasy and emotions rolled through her. There was more to it than sex this time. If she was completely honest, it felt like they were finally making love. She was so close now, but she wanted more. She wanted to mold into him and never let go.

Thranduil bent down and kissed her deeply as he rolled his hips, hitting her G-spot. She whimpered into his mouth. Their hot and sweaty bodies were pressed up impossibly close to each other, but he only wanted to get closer. He felt his heart thud and lurch from more than just the physical aspect of what they were doing.

I love you. I love you, Roslyn.

"Look at me," he asked her.

She opened her eyes and watched him. A moment later his face registered surprise, pleasure, and something else, as his orgasm suddenly hit him hard. He bucked into her and she felt herself fall apart as well.

They both cried out, calling for each other as fireworks exploded before their eyes. The feelings that they had only served to intensify their orgasms. They clung to each other desperately as the pleasure continued to tear through them. Roslyn finally felt her senses coming back as the ecstasy ebbed away. But she continued to lie there, holding Thranduil as he rested on top of her, still inside of her.

She ran her fingers through his hair as he recovered from the orgasm. He finally pulled away from her slightly, propping up on shaking arms. He looked down at her, his eyes roaming every inch of her face.

"Roslyn…I…"

I love you.

He suddenly found that his lips wouldn't form the words. He watched as a few tears began to roll down her face. Her hands flew up to wipe them away as she laughed at herself.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying. I just…It was just…"

"I know," he whispered before bending down and kissing away her tears.

He finally found her mouth and kissed her slowly and deeply, pouring his feeling into every second of it. He pulled away, their faces hovering so close.

"It's getting a little hard to breathe," she laughed as her fingers ghosted over his back.

"Sorry," he pulled out and rolled over beside her.

Roslyn turned onto her side, her back to Thranduil.

"Will you hold me while I sleep?" she asked.

Wordlessly, he scooted up to her and hugged her from behind, holding her tightly against his chest. He breathed in the scent of his shampoo in her hair and his stomach flip-flopped.

You are such a coward.

He felt her breath start to slow as Roslyn fell asleep in his arms. Before long, he began to drift off as well.

A/N: Ok, so I personally really loved this chapter. Hope you all did too! :)