ooooooh Here it is! Enjoy!
PART 1
...
Evie had been wandering for hours around this forest. She was hopelessly lost.
Not an elf in sight anywhere.
How in earth they had lost her or she had lost them, was a mystery.
It was so dark and dense in this part of the forest. Stiflingly hot and hard to breathe. She'd long since finished her water skin ages ago and she was so parched.
Everywhere she turned looked the same. Tall trees with large thick branches and lots of foliage. So close together were the trees that she couldn't see the sky when she looked up.
What purpose their little expedition had she couldn't remember. Being here was muddling her brain. She just had to keep going until she found a water source and then she could try to work out where exactly she was and how to get back to the King's halls.
Along she walked and walked until she started to smell something not so nice. She wiped the sweat off her brow and turned through a thicket of branches to find a large, winding river. But the water didn't flow, it was stagnant.
In the brain haze Evie was under, she didn't really take notice of this, or much else in her surroundings, she just saw water and couldn't wait to have a drink. If she didn't she might pass out from exhaustion.
She took a few excited steps forward and knelt on the side of the bank. The water was actually quite a long way down so she had to lie on her tummy and reached her arm out as far as she could.
Her fingers had just waved through the water when she heard a loud shout somewhere from the left side -
"Evie! No! Don't touch the water!"
it felt muffled though, her eyes had started to blur a bit and she had difficulty concentrating.
Turning her head to the left she could see a tall figure coming towards her really fast. They kept yelling at her, but she didn't really understand. They were male with long platinum hair, pointed ears that stuck out and wore dark leggings and almost knee high boots. The tunic was dark blue and there were weapons strapped to their chest.
What struck her was the look of hard determination in the extremely fair face - the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. He seemed slightly familiar to Evie but she couldn't put her finger on why.
She was just a bit overwhelmed, confused and he was coming towards her at rate she didn't understand. Her body's flight or fight response had the adrenaline pumping so that she could get herself upright and start running backwards. What she didn't anticipate in her haste when she looked over her shoulder to the being closing in on her was the rock that she tripped over and the subsequent knock to the head as a result.
…..
Thranduil saw Evie fall and couldn't get there quick enough to catch her.
"Evie!"
The red head woman went down hard, hitting her head and then not moving again.
The Elvenking had not spent much time in his long life being worried or scared of anything, but seeing her unresponsive invoked a protective reaction in him. He raced to get to her side and checked her over.
Sighing in relief to hear her still breathing, he found the site of where she knocked her head, his fingers coming away covered in blood.
Being ever so gentle Evie, he lifted her as quickly as possible and moved towards his valiant steed to get back as soon as possible. His voice was cold as ice and harsh as he shot out orders to his accompanying warriors, all of whom fell into line no questions asked. The King was not in a mood to be argued with.
"Move out!"
He didn't look to see if any followed him, he just took off, hoping not to jostle the woman in his arms too much.
The journey back was going to feel like an age to him, with the well-being of Evie hanging in the balance. The cut on her head needed tending as soon as possible and then they had to wait until the woke up as to whether she touched the infernal river water.
He couldn't seemed to get the look of terror on her face when she saw him coming towards her before she fell. It was not a reaction she had ever displayed before in his presence, infuriatingly she had never really been afraid of him. Probably one of the only beings ever to do so. Maybe that was part of what drew him to her. Fearless, until today.
That made Thranduil's mind wonder to think that maybe she had touched the enchanted river. If she had that would certainly explain the odd behaviour. The effects of the river often differed to the individual and how much exposure they had, but generally speaking memory loss and confusion was quite common.
This worried him. What if she had? What if she lost her memory of not only him, but of Legolas? All this time spent together perhaps gone forever. The little Elf would be inconsolable if his darling Evie forgot him. Thranduil had to admit to himself that the idea of her forgetting him cut him deep too.
The return of memories was a tricky business too, do it too quickly and the individual often suffered severe pain and could die.
His thoughts moved back to the conversation he had had with his adviser Lord Galion only the week and a half prior to this little expedition.
….
"Why on earth is her presence so essential to this journey Galion?"
The King was seat in his grand velvet chair of his redwood study while the adviser stood in front of the desk, remarkably calm for someone presenting the King with a request that clearly wasn't going well.
"Lady Evangeline is a powerful being as an Elemental, My King, you know this. In trying to find the healing herb, she may be able to help it grow bigger so we have a larger supply. Even better would be if she could help us grow it here. We've never been able to successfully grow it here and it would be such a grand thing to have a constant supply for the healers."
The King looked dubious, but he said nothing, just left his hand thoughtfully under his chin. Galion continued on.
"Furthermore, she is a newcomer to our forest and I feel it would be good for her to get a feel for the surrounds and why we protect it."
"Her role is not to be a warrior of the realm, Galion. She's here as a mentor for the Prince. What reason would she have to be out there on her own?"
"Indeed, we hope she never would have to be too far deep by herself, but it's not going to do any harm. The benefit outweighs the risk."
"The risk is too high. She's untrained, the forest is full of uncertainties that the other trained Elves don't need to worry about. I fail to see how I can grant this request."
"With respect, My King, I feel your opinion is a bit biased."
This made the hackles rise, but the only tell was the dropping of the King's hand to the desk and his lips moving into a thin line.
"Oh?"
"Well, you have to agree that the connection between you is too close, with Lady Evangeline mentoring Legolas. It won't be good her living in the Elven community if it looks like you're interfering in things that could be for the good of the realm."
"Interfering in things that are for the good of the realm is my job as King."
"Yes, but not for the sake of a woman - as pretty as she is."
Thranduil was not happy with Galion. There was no way for him to argue about this without showing his hand about his affection for the red headed woman. And she wasn't his. Not yet.
"I still believe the risk is high, however I will allow it…"
"Thank you My King, this is excellent…"
"I wasn't finished Galion." That tone was icy cold and wiped the smile right off the other elf's face.
"Lady Evangeline has to agree of her own free will. I will not force her to go and neither will you. Is that understood?"
" Yes, My King."
"Good. Get out."
The dark haired elf was smart not to try anything else, he just bowed and left as quickly as possible.
….
Shaking his head slightly, Thranduil could mentally kick himself for not being harder at stopping this farce in the first place. He knew Galion's real purpose to have Evie on the expedition was for him to spend time with her. The bastard was going to be kicked into next week for all this happening on his watch. The troupe better be ready for him when got back because there would be hell to pay whatever the explanation for leaving her behind.
It amazed him that he didn't bother to find out before, he just ordered the warriors to accompany him to find her. His concern had been quite great. That lead him to think about how Legolas had begged him not to let her go.
…
The door to his study was flung open and Thranduil was just about to order them out when he looked up saw it was his son, who appeared to be in quite a flutter.
"Adar you can't let her go."
He wasn't stupid and wasn't going to pretend he didn't know what Legolas was talking about.
"It's out of my hands Little Leaf, if Lady Evangeline has agreed, then that's it."
"No Adar, you're the King, you can say no."
"It's a complex matter Little Leaf, because she really isn't an Elf."
That lie felt terrible on the king's tongue. He had interfered in just about everything in his realm before, it was out of character for him to leave it be.
"That's doesn't matter, she's important to me and I don't want her to go!"
"I know you don't, but they won't be gone very long."
"But why does she have to go at all? Can't I go?"
At that suggestion Thranduil was going to put his foot down.
"No Legolas, it's no place for you. Not until you're a bit older and had some more training."
"But Naneth hasn't had much training and you're sending her away!"
The King could see his little son was becoming quite agitated, clearly under the impression his father could stop it. His eyes and his tone softened a bit.
"Come and sit with me a minute Little Leaf."
The little Elf walked around and sat on his Adar's knee.
"I'll share something with you I haven't shared with anybody else.
I don't want Lady Evangeline to go either, but sometimes you have to let others make their own choices. I guarantee she won't want to be gone too long from you, you're her favourite."
"Really Adar?"
"Yes. Now run along, for I think Amos has been baking something you might like."
The little Elf hopped off his Adar's knee in a better mood than he had come.
…
No, the idea of Evie being gone had no sat well with either Thranduil or his son, but they had let her go and now this had happened.
It did not bode well.
They arrived back at the King's halls. The King was off his horse and flying down the hallways towards the healing rooms as quick as he could, a whole heap of emotion bubbling up to the surface.
…..
Thranduil had had no time to rest after the journey, when Melui had kicked him out of the healing rooms, he had headed straight to his study and called for Captain Feren.
"This is a serious situation Feren. We need to know how she got left behind and the appropriate punishment decided."
"Absolutely. While you were out I've had them all detained separately."
"Good. I want them all brought to the throne room together so they can't lie to me. Where's Lord Galion?"
"He is the only exception. He is in his suite."
"I want him there too, I hold him responsible for all this mess. If he hadn't pushed the idea in the first place, it wouldn't have happened at all."
The dark haired Elf seemed to hesitate despite knowing he had been dismissed to organise the group. The King didn't even look up from his furious writing, but noticed none the less.
"Was there something else Feren?"
"I just wondered, is she alright?"
At that the King did stop, sighed and looked up.
"Melui said she was stable despite the wound on her head, it wasn't as deep as first thought and shouldn't cause any lasting damage."
"That's good news, but there's something else isn't there?"
"She hasn't woken up yet. And that is what we need to find out if she touched the enchanted river."
"By the Valar! She didn't!"
"We don't know for sure, but I suspect it. I'm writing to Mithrandir to see what he can do to help."
The Captain moved towards the door then full of fury, not having been privy to this detail before. He stopped just before opening it and asked "Did they even get the bloody healing herbs?"
The King felt his fury rise, his free hand forming into a tight fist, those damn herbs. His voice was bitter and full of resentment when he answered "Yes."
He did not elaborate any further as he would trade Evie's well being for having those herbs any day.
…..
Thranduil sat tall and proud in his Throne, his broad hand tapping impatiently while he waited for this incompetent group to turn up.
His patience and tolerance level was already low and this wouldn't help matters. He was determined not to put this off, there was nothing else to do but wait until the red head woke up.
Legolas was the other next business to attend to. He didn't know how he was going to tell him about Evie. He was going to be inconsolable. His lip curled, so unnecessary.
The next moment had his keen ears hearing the very quiet footsteps of several Elves. They were all clad in the dark brown and green of his warriors. They were all very well trained and they were all here in one piece completely unscathed. The only Elf not dressed like this was was at the end of the line, not a hair out of place and dark blue attire was immaculate.
They lined up next to each other, their hands over their heart as they bowed as one to the King on the throne.
When the King did bid them rise, his voice was everything the legends said about him - cold, heartless and terrifying.
"You will explain yourselves."
It was a heartbeat or two before any other sound was heard. It was like everyone was holding their breath to see who spoke first: they would bear the brunt of the King's wrath.
In the end it was young warrior, freshly released out into the world who stepped forward and bowed low.
"My name is Melor, My King, and I…"
" I do not care for your name, youngling, just your actions. Begin again."
"Yes My King, I apologise. The journey started off with no issues. We travelled for the day and made camp. Same again for the next day. Evie seemed to keep up alright…"
"Lady Evangeline to you, that familiarity is not going to be tolerated."
The glare coming from the King was quite intense and made all the warriors shift slightly.
"She asked us to call her that…"
"I don't care if she asked you to call her that, I'm my presence you will give her the respect she deserves. Are we clear?"
"Yes."
There was a brief pause here in which Melor looked back at Lord Galion for support, who didn't really offer anything, just a wave of his to continue.
"Right so, it was the next day that we encountered the problem…"
This explanation continued on and on and on. Going around in circles, with some of the other cutting in with contradictory information. Thranduil just sat there glowering down and let them talk. He wondered if Feren was as fed up with this as he was. Clearly there had been something afoot and they hadn't gotten to the bottom of it yet.
The story had just reached the part where Evie's boots had mysteriously disappeared when quick footsteps could be heard coming towards the throne room, with a healer Elf coming into view moments later. Thranduil sat up, his full attention shifting.
The new Elf paused to complete the appropriate greeting and then smiled. "She's awake My King, you must come."
That had a Thranduil releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. They'd sat here for hours and he was weary, but he hadn't wanted to rest without knowing she was ok.
He got up at once, flew down the throne stairs, left the room without a backward glance and quickly hurried towards the healing rooms. He knew Feren would be able to continue in his absence.
With confidence he opened the door to her room and strode in. And stopped.
There was the beautiful red haired woman he'd worried so much about, now clean and sitting on the bed with her legs draped over the side. Her green eyes were wide taking in his form while nursing what looked like a cup of tea.
He took a hesitant step forward. "How are you feeling Evie?"
Her response had all his hopes crashing down.
"Who are you?"
….
Evie looked at the tall Elf standing in the doorway. She had to admit he was handsome. The eyes were the bluest colour she had ever seen. There was a depth to them that drew her in, but it was full of an emotion she couldn't quite read.
She felt herself tense up a bit when he took a step forward. She didn't know him or what he would want from her.
"How are you feeling Evie?"
Right. Evie was her name. The healer, Melui, had told her that. She didn't really remember anything else about her life. Where she was? Why she lived amongst elves? What was her purpose in life? Did she have a partner?
She was genuinely confused.
"Who are you?"
The elf in front of her, dressed in very fine clothing, though still a bit dirty, looked suddenly very pained. Clearly she had said the wrong thing. She felt bad and wished to explain.
"I'm very sorry, I don't seem to remember anything about my life. Were we friends?"
Almost like a scoff came out "Friends, indeed."
She watched him give her another once over and before she could say anything else, he was gone. The door left ajar from his departure.
It was then Melui came back in.
Alright then Evie? How is the tonic working?"
Evie looked at the healer, her thoughts still on the male Elf. "There was an Elf. I don't know who he was and he just left."
"What did the Elf look like?"
"He was tall, fine clothing, long platinum blonde hair and really blue eyes."
"Ahhh I suspected as much."
"Who was it? Was I supposed to know him?"
"His name is Thranduil. And the relationship between you is not really for me to say. Now enough of that, let's get you back into bed for some rest."
And with that the healer had shut down anymore talk, for she was afraid that talking about him to Evie could bring back too many memories at once - a dangerous thing if not done appropriately.
When Evie finally closed her eyes and drifted off that night, she dreamed.
She was in a kitchen she didn't recognize. It was large, homely style kitchen with elves bustling around making bread and other yummy foods. Evie herself has rolling dough and fitting into little tart moulds to be filled and baked.
She was concentrating so hard she barely noticed anyone else being there and she hummed contentedly as she worked.
A clearing of the throat had Evie looking up and when she did she saw the tall blonde Elf that had come to visit her - Thranduil. In this dream world she felt she knew him really well, there was a closeness and comfortableness in being in his presence others didn't seem to have. But she got a bit nervous and had butterflies in her tummy.
Being distracted by his arrival and in her carelessness, as she went to put down the knife she was using to trim the tart pastry, she knicked her forefinger and blood welled up.
"Oh."
The male Elf has seen what she did and was there in an instant, picking up a spare cloth and holding it gently over the wound. He turned to the nearest female elf working - "bring some warm water, bandages and herbal salve."
"Yes, Sir."
He turned his vivid blue eyes back to her and in a swift move had her sitting on the bench next to the half finished tarts, with her sore hand gently held in his large calloused one. She felt the warmth seeping through the cloth. She smiled at him.
"You don't have to do this, I can go see Melui later."
He gave her a teasing smile in return. "Where's the fun in that. And I dare say you wouldn't really go to the healing rooms unless I took you there myself."
She laughed, "Yes I guess that's true. Still this is a task beneath you."
"Nonsense, I have all sorts of duties and this is one I find myself very interested in. We couldn't have you coming down with an illness of some sort."
"You don't know I'd get Ill."
"In my wisdom I think it better not to take the risk."
"Right. And what exactly are you hiding from to help me?"
He didn't answer straight away, just thanked the female elf that brought the supplies he'd asked for an began. Firstly he removed the cloth and inspected to the cut.
"Well?"
He didn't stop what he was doing to answer, "A council meeting if you must know."
"I'd say that constitutes being more of a priority than me."
He did stop then and looked at her intensely for a moment.
"Priories are decided by the individual. Right now I see you and your cut finger as a priority."
"Thranduil!"
"You're also a lot prettier to look at than the group of male Elves in the council room."
That comment made her cheeks tinge pink and it was made feel all warm inside. He rarely spoke so candidly with anyone.
Then he bathed her finger in the warm water and patted it dry before gently rubbing in some of the herbal salve.
"That's a very kind thing to say."
"It's the truth as I see it. If I'd have offended you, would you have ordered me down to the council?" He asked with a teasing grin.
"You can't stop now, it's half finished and I have tarts to bake!"
"We can't have half finished tarts can we?! Legolas would be most put out."
He then wrapped he finger gently so that there was enough pressure to stop the bleeding. When he had tied it off, he didn't automatically let go of her hand. Instead, he brought the hand into both of his larger ones and just held it.
Evie had been looking down at his hand as he worked, but when she lifted her green eyes upwards, they locked on to his ice blue eyes. She didn't realize how close their heads had been, but now he was just an inch from her. As they stared at one another, Evie felt a great desire to kiss him. But she held back. Not here and not with all these elves pretending not to look at them. She was happy to see the same desire reflected back in his eyes, but she knew he was the type for things to happen exactly as he wished it to. It wasn't quite the right time.
The moment was broken by something crashing to the floor of the kitchen.
Thranduil helped her down from the bench.
"I better get back to the council."
"Indeed you should before you're missed too much." She teased him.
She was rewarded with a laugh. "I think they prefer it if I'm not there."
He moved to walk out, but turned back when he felt her hand on his arm.
"May I bring you a tart when they're ready?"
The smile he gave her was dazzling. It made her weak in the knees. "I'd like that very much, My Lady" He brought the injured delicate hand up to his mouth and left a gentle kiss on the back of it.
He dropped her hand then he was gone.
Evie hummed while she finished off the tarts, her head lost in wonderful thoughts.
Later on when the tarts were fresh out of the oven, she picked two and put them in a special box. She'd told Eileen that she volunteered for afternoon tea duty with the council, who was very happy to let her.
She wheeled the tea cart up to the large wooden door and tentatively knocked. She heard a faint reply and pushed open the door.
Walking in it was rather dark with more than 20 male Elves gathered around a circular table, Thranduil seated in grandiose chair at one end. It was to him that she looked and curtseyed. "Would you care for some afternoon tea?"
The smile he gave her was worth all the effort she'd made. "Bring it forth, My Lady."
And she did so, serving him first with a hot beverage and placing the special box in front of him. He caught her hand before she could move on and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear "Thank you, the tarts in the box smell simply delicious. I hope you didn't bring any for the others, I think they're too good to share."
She giggled back,"of course not, it's just for you. Although I made have saved one for Legolas." She gave him a wink as he released her hand. She went round the table and served everyone their drink of choice and then left them to it when she heard them resume talking about some sort of trade information. Before she left she did look back at the Elf she cared for and wasn't disappointed to find his attention not on the matter of discussion, but on her. She gave him a smile and left, feeling so happy she could burst.
What sleeping Evie didn't realize was that this was not a fantasy dream at all, but a memory from only 2 weeks ago. When she woke she wasn't sure what to think about it and put it to the back of her mind for the time being. She had a whole life to figure out and start living again.
…
To say the King was in foul mood the next morning was an understatement. No one had seen him in such a rage for long time and many tried to guess the reason why without success.
He woke early and demanded that Captain Feren meet him in the training ring immediately.
When Feren got there, he saw his King ready to do battle and prepared himself for the onslaught that would inevitably come. Every so often the King was keep himself battle fit and use pent up frustrations out on him. Simply because he was the only one close enough in skill to match him.
He apologized for his tardiness and then they began. On it went, offensive and defensive for more than an hour. They could both endure longer sessions than this, but they're more duties to care for and it was time for a debriefing.
When the King had left the throne room, Feren had taken over of the preliminary investigation. More time would need to spent, but the basics were starting to come into focus.
Both elves were having a rest from the swordplay to speak in this private setting - no one else would step foot here for an hour or more.
"So how is she?" Feren was one of the only elves to speak so candidly with him.
Thranduil was not entirely happy to talk about this but it needed to come out.
"She doesn't remember."
"Anything?"
"Nothing of her life. Certainly not me."
Feren swore in response. "So what do we do to help?"
"That's the problem, there isn't much we can do without potentially harming her. The memories, if they come back, need to do so in slow way. Triggers can be fatal if too much comes back at once. She can't be exposed to anything that might trigger the memories."
"What about Legolas?"
"He's going to be devastated. I don't know how to explain it to him yet. He doesn't know she's back yet, so I'm trying to buy as much time as I can."
"She really won't know him?"
"We wouldn't know for sure until she sees him, but I don't think so. If she realized, I think she'd be devastated too."
"She absolutely adores him."
"Indeed, the feeling is mutual."
Thranduil wasn't going to admit it to anyone but himself, but the red headed woman's love for his son had been a large part of the reason his heart had softened.
"So what's the plan?"
" I think you should join Legolas and I for breakfast and we can try to break the news to him. A meeting between them is inevitable
As Legolas won't stay away even if told to do so, so we'll just have to find a way to manage that unless Mithrandir has some magic cure for us."
"Very good. I'll clean up and meet you in the dining room."
The Elvenking just nodded once and then left the training ring and started on the walk back to the royal suite deep in thought.
He was walking aimlessly around the palace, his mind not switching off at the late hour, but not really ready to try and rest. This is how he found himself near the great hall, empty and abandoned in the dim, except for a a distant sound coming from the room.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he quietly stepped into the spectacular room - even in its current state with ornaments and candle holders waiting to be put up for the upcoming feast. It was dark, but for the few illuminated candles that must have been forgotten by the servants. He'd had to have a word with them about it.
It was this soft, romantic light that reflected off the soft pink tulle dress worn by a woman with red curly hair that was half up and half hanging down her back. The dress was fitted across the top, with straps that tied in a bow on each shoulder, and a skirt that just fell away to the floor, rustling as she moved. Her soft singing was what the King had heard outside the room. She was strolling slowly, taking in the splendor of the vast room and hadn't noticed him.
"It's rather late to be up and about."
She made a huge gasping noise and held a hand to her chest he assumed was to help settle her fast beating heart.
"Oh God Thranduil, don't scare me like that!"
He couldn't help but smile in a teasing way. "You make it so easy Evie. We really must work on that."
Her laugh was the best sound he'd heard all day. "Or you could just stop sneaking up on me!"
"That would spoil all my fun."
"Yeah but the stigma is that the great Elvenking doesn't have any fun!"
"And who told you that?"
"Well everyone sort of says it."
"Hmmmm indeed."
He then held out his left hand palm up to see how much courage this woman had.
"What are you doing?"
"Proving everyone wrong." He simply waited for her to take the offered hand. His patience was rewarded when she eyed it hesitantly once and then put her delicate hand in his. He took that opportunity to draw her nice and close to his body, their torsos just touching. He was satisfied to hear her sharp intake of breath when he placed his hand on her waist.
Looking down at her, he removed his hand from her waist for a moment to gently use his finger to lift her chin from the floor to his eyes. "But we haven't got any music."
"We will if you oblige your King with a song, My Lady." He teased her to draw away her nervousness.
It worked well for then she gave him a sweet smile that reached her green eyes and said "I couldn't say no to a King."
What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you
All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you
Something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you
And me and all of the people with nothing to do and nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you
They twirled around the empty floor, neither of them sharing their attention with anything else. It was just the two of them.
On the last line, the male elf spun her out and back in again and then deftly lifted her up high and made sure to have her body brush against the length of his as he lower to back down to the floor. Her hands ended up resting on his chest and he had let go of her waist with one hand to cup her face gently. Yes, this was the moment to go for it, he decided. He could see that she wanted this as much as he did. He lowered his head with the intention to gently brush his lips against hers when he stopped, sighed and pulled back.
He could see the disappointment in her eyes, which he felt bad for, but he didn't want the interruption to wreck a special moment for them.
He didn't turn around, but he did stop the messenger when he began to speak.
"My King, I apologise…"
"You shall wait outside for me." There was no room for argument with this statement. The elf just did what he was told.
He looked into Evie's eyes. "I'm very sorry for us to be interrupted."
"How did you know he was there?"
"I could hear his footsteps. Elven ears remember?"
"Right. I forgot about that. It's a shame, but I guess duty calls right?"
"Right. But I'd like to pick this up again soon."
"I'd like that too. Don't keep me waiting too long!"
Her sparkling eyes were something he could get lost in. So incredibly full of life. It made him more annoyed he had to leave her.
"Never" he promised, raising her hand to his lips as he watched her give him a small curtesy.
He dropped her hand with an apologetic smile and then turned to the door, an indifferent mask now in place on his face.
When he was within a short distance from the messenger boy, he raised his voice so loud he was sure Evie could hear him.
"Keep up with me, if this business is so very urgent at this late hour !"
By the time the memory was finished, Thranduil had bathed, clothed himself and made his was to the dining room. With a a deep breath, he opened the door and went in.
...
What do you think?
More to come!