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ShadowAmaris - Darling! Yes, I'm alive and back, somewhat. I have quite a few stories I want to finish before I publish them here. (As I'm terrible at updating and finishing stories that aren't complete outside of FF.) I hope you're doing well! It's been quite some time, hasn't it? It's great that you're still around. ;) Hope to continue hearing from you, love!

III: The Darkness Follows

Legolas was a friend, but his presence was often absent. He was head of a scouting party that protected their home, thus he spent many days buried in the forests surrounding the entrances. I missed him when he was gone; during the few weeks in Greenwood, we had grown as friends.

He was intelligent and a fighter, beautiful and hilarious. We read to one another when we felt like staying in the underground city and fought in the training grounds to keep ourselves sharp. Despite my countless years on Arda compared to him, he was more proficient in nearly every skill necessary for battle. The only thing I had on him was speed, and even then he was not far beyond. A second at most! My father had always said I was not destined for war, and I now believed him right.

I had no one else in Greenwood to turn to when he was gone and I had spent more than enough time memorizing the palace and inner city to know it front to back. Reading held my time mostly, save the time I spent honing my archery alone in the training grounds. My only issue was the lack of time in the outside world. I yearned to explore the forests, yet I was captive in the palace. My father had made sure to implore that I needed to be kept safe to Thranduil, and the best option appeared to be keeping me from the chance to wander their woods.

But I was not one to listen easily. I may have been trained as a lady, but I was also a traveler. I preferred the rustling winds and changing nature to the quietness of a palace. Lothlórien had instilled part of this yearning in me, though the other was from my father and mother's needs to take me to all corners of Middle-Earth.

For these reasons, I found myself dressed in a simple tunic with lovely embroidery and a pair of tight breeches made custom for my long and thin body. My bow and a set of arrows were on my back and a cowl covered my head, just enough to hide the glistening white color of my hair. Anyone would know me by it; I tried to implore stealth on my opportunity to sneak outside the underground.

I made it almost to the doors to the city when I felt a presence nearby. I reacted by stilling and turning to whoever dared to impede upon my chance for freedom. Just as I had been surprised as a child, I found myself in similar circumstances when Thranduil stood before me, his hands folded and his eyebrows raised slightly higher than usual. His dress was similar to mine, though a sword hung on his hip.

"Lady Faelwen," he called smoothly, "need I ask why you sneak through my home with a wrap upon your hair?" His hand reached out and pushed the cowl from my head to hang around my neck, barely skimming my gently waved tresses as he did so.

There was no point in lying to the ellon; he would see straight through me with his piercing eyes. "I wish to go outside, my King. I yearn to feel the wind on my face and the dirt beneath my feet."

He stared at me, tilting his head gently to the left. Pale blonde hair spilled over his shoulders, dancing around his waist. Thranduil's beauty was fabled, and Legolas's kinship with the stoic king was certainly clear from the looks they shared. It was unnerving, but this was the way of their race. He was born of royalty and lived of royalty.

"If you so wish it, I will accompany you." He eyed a nearby guard and held out his royal cloak. "Send this to my rooms."

The loyal elf hurried off to do as his king commanded. I simply stared at the king, a brow cocked in confusion. He never seemed to want to leave; his moods were either indifferent or far from it, but never between. Thranduil was the type to rule without ever lifting a finger, yet his battle prowess was known far and wide. He also seemed the type to not enjoy company.

"Come, Lady Faelwen."

I grinned triumphantly at his back; it was much easier to sneak out when I had permission to do so. Perhaps he already readied for this trip from the way he dressed, though I doubted my companionship had ever been part of his plan. Nonetheless, I would take what I was given graciously.

As we walked, I noticed his steps were as silent and practiced as his son's, if not more. I was light-footed, but nothing like King Thranduil or Prince Legolas.

He led me to the doors that exited his immaculate halls and held his hand up for the guards to push open the magnificent edifice. The beautiful sounds of birds and wildlife greeted me, just as a tickle of wind passed my face. I smiled, stepping hurriedly behind the great king and out into the open air I longed for. The forests were nothing like Lothlórien; where my home was wide and spacious between the towering trees, Greenwood was compacted and twisting.

"Stay close," he ordered and I knew I would do well to oblige. He had been kind enough to let me out of the cage I had been trapped in; stepping on his good graces would not end well, especially considering how his kindnesses were few and far between.

"Are you here for a stroll or is there more to your outing, my King?" I asked him genuinely, taking stride beside him.

He eyed me callously from the corner of his eye. "Even a king needs to step away from his throne. Did you wish to hunt, Lady Faelwen?"

I shook my head; it had never been my intention. "I have learned that you should never stray from your home without something to keep you safe. I carry a bow to assure I will not fall to a wayward creature fancying my flesh."

Thranduil nodded and kept his eyes forward once more. The trees above were dense; sunlight could barely stream through, but the reflection off the leaves created a lovely glow around the forest. I believed the forest held some sort of magic, but I was only speculating. I wanted to see the sunlight, feel it touching the few places my skin peeked out from my clothing.

"Have you found my home suitable?" he asked suddenly and I stopped, perplexed by his question. He barely turned his head to me. "I have noticed your restlessness well, my Lady. You grow more anxious each moment you spend in my halls. The only joy that seems to spring upon your face is when you dine with us in the forests at night."

"I have never been one to be caged," I answered boldly. "Lothlórien is in the tops of the trees and I have reign to do as I wish, wander as I will. My father instilled his restlessness in me, as did my mother."

"Then what is it you wish?" He seemed perturbed, even agitated by my statement. He lived beneath the ground; he could not expect a wanderer to stay there as well and enjoy it.

"Many things, my King." I smiled gently at the lengthy ellon. "At this moment, I wish to feel the sun upon my cheeks, to warm skin that has not felt the light in so very long a time. Would you grant me permission to climb atop one of the trees in your home so I may do just that?"

My eyes were begging and I hated it, but I wanted nothing more at this exact moment. The breeze was light, barely brushing, and I knew it would be especially beautiful to see the world as only the elves of this world have.

He motioned me forward and slowly we walked through the lively brush of his forests. He seemed more at home here than he did on his gilded throne, even with the crown that sat atop his head. Thranduil led me further into the greenery to a tree that was more than suitable for climbing. He grappled a low branch and hoisted himself up easily, then offered a pale hand down to me.

I took his digits, noticing how soft they were, despite his disposition to wield a sword. He pulled me further up to swig my leg over the branch and land crouched on the wide, natural walkway.

Together, Thranduil and I effortlessly made our way higher and higher to the tops of the forest. When he at last moved aside a few pieces at the top of the massive tree, I felt the sunlight hit my face. Eagerly, I climbed up beside him and stuck my upper body through the hole he had made.

It was just as I had hoped; the sun glittered down on the tops of the trees and warmed my skin in the most delightful way. I sighed as the wind tickled my cheeks and pushed my hair away from my face, letting it dance in the delightful breeze around me. From my position, I could see the nearly never-ending forests and the Lonely Mountain in the distance.

"It's breathtaking," I whispered, fingering the leaves around me and staring off into the horizon.

I barely heard the rustling of branches beside me. Thranduil gracefully lifted himself through the leafy barrier a few feet to my left, and as he did I realized how well he fit here in Greenwood. He appeared as the royalty he was as he stood near, taking in the brilliance of his kingdom. I wished to have a reverence to me as he did, but I would forever be the gem of Lothlórien, nothing like Galadriel but still close enough to her heart that so many knew of how precious I was to her. I would not be seen as a mighty, just ruler or even a playful maid. I was precious, but I was as normal as any amongst Elvenkind. I held beauty, but what of my kin did not?

"Hmm," I heard him hum just before fingers touched the ends of my hair.

When I turned, Thranduil was staring at my hair with a glazed look to his eyes. I could not place if he was recalling something, or if he was simply transfixed by the color. Elves were a fair breed; our locks were either dark or the lightest of blondes. Mine, thanks to my mother and her mother before her, had been graced with so pure a white, it was far from common. It was part of the reasons Galadriel had called me her jewel, and not just for how close I was to the legendary elleth.

"My King?" I asked when his trance did not break. His eyes moved to meet my own and he was released from whatever spell that had come over him. "Is something wrong with my hair?"

"The color. I have never seen such a shade," he remarked calmly, eyeing it once more. "The lights of my kingdom do not show it to be so... pure."

"Many of my family have been graced," I told him simply, still unaware of why he had been so bold as to touch it. The standoffish king was not one for physical contact by any means. "It has been passed through many generations. I suppose it might be common in Valinor, though I have never been."

"Hmm," he said once more.

I tore my eyes from the strange elf and stared across his kingdom. Something in the distance caught my eye; it was as if the forest had begun to darken just near the edge of the expansive greenery. I narrowed my gaze on it and tried to figure a reason.

"My King," I said carefully, "have your forests begun to die? The liveliness darkens at the edge just that way." I gestured in the direction and turned my head back to the elf.

The king tore himself from his scrutiny, almost insane to a degree, and instead stared in the direction I had pointed. His face fell into the emotionless mask he wore on most occasions and his body stilled completely.

"It is time we return, Lady Faelwen," he said flatly and ducked beneath the canopy once more.

I did not hesitate, despite my aversion for the sunless groves beneath me, and followed him immediately. Thranduil was no longer patient and waiting for me, but instead scaling down the expansive tree with unbridled grace. I scurried down after him, careful to follow where he had tread, and made it down just as the king began a hasty retreat to his underground fortress.

When we entered the expansive halls, he called out irritably, "Send for Legolas. Tell him his king orders him back to Greenwood without hesitation." He stopped and seemed to remember another was with him. "Lady Faelwen, it is best you retire for the evening. Dinner will be ready as usual this evening."

With a scowl on my face, I padded silently back to the elaborate rooms I had called home. I set my bow aside and, as usual, found a few of the handmaidens were waiting for me in my room. They began to undress me so I could bathe the filth- what little there was- from my body for the feast that evening.

Again, they went through their ritual of cleaning my body and hair, though this time with more vigor. It took far longer than I cared to admit for my long hair to dry. From what I had assumed, it was not customary to attend the nightly feasts with my tresses dripping down the back of my dress. For this reason, I was not allowed to put on the fine, pale blue garment until I was completely dried.

A knock sounded at my door some hours later, just as I was finished being readied for the dinner. The handmaidens bowed, leaving just after they opened the door. Legolas, dressed in his usual garb for scouting, stepped in with his brow furrowed until he laid eyes on me.

"Beautiful as always, Faelwen," he said smoothly. He stepped closer to me and folded his hands behind his back.

"What on Arda is going on, Legolas? I was enjoying my time in the forest earlier-"

"With my ada," he said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Indeed," I huffed. "I saw the darkness in your forest and he made us come back sooner than I was ready."

"I am to go and discover the source at first light." Legolas furrowed his brows once more. "Something is amiss in our home. I have felt it, as well as my father, but it was not until your observation today that we have proof that things are not as they were. For that, I thank you, my Lady."

"None of that 'my lady' nonsense." I waved my hand around. "Would I be able to go with you on the morrow? I haven't scouted in decades and would love the chance to go out again."

"If my father agrees, Ilúvatar would bless my party with your presence." He smiled and walked towards the door. "We shall ask him together at the feast, when he is in better spirits. Let us enjoy ourselves tonight, mellonamin."

I prayed he would give me the chance, even if my father had asked for my safety alone.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading!