It was a quiet night. Too quiet. Sonja feared the coming dawn, she could feel something terrible was about to happen. The orcs of Gundabad were numerous and well-armed. If anything, being free from the grasp of Sauron made them more dangerous than ever. They were in a way leaderless, acting solely on pure hate against the other races.
The dwarves felt safe inside their mountain and refused to offer any help to the human kingdoms in this endeavor. Having the support of Thranduil's army came as a pleasant surprise in this hour of need. The elves were skilled warriors with magical crafted weapons and armor and their King, legend has it, the greatest warrior to have ever lived in Middle Earth. She had heard these tales about him, all depicted him as wise but arrogant, unforgiving and cold. They sang of his skills with the sword on the field of battle and of the ancient magic that he wields. He had survived the breath of the dragon and the wars with Morgoth and Sauron.
She could not stop thinking about their earlier encounter, brief as it had been, it made her feel uneasy. His silence above all, his freezing lips on her hand and his incredibly perfect composure. But then there had been something else, something she could not comprehend just yet, a spark that brought his cold eyes to life as soon as he met her gaze.
With these thoughts in her head, Sonja blew out the candles and buried her face under the silken sheets, well aware that many of her soldiers will not live to see another night fall over the mountains of Middle Earth. Will she?
Her eyes took a moment to adjust in the dim light coming from the night sky. In her short lifetime, the stars have stayed in their places just as they have for countless lifetimes before her own. She was sure they would remain unaffected whether she and her men should live or die. It was unsettling.
A subtle breeze against her cheek, - she rose high against her pillow, surprised at the fact that she was no longer alone in her chamber.
-'Dare you spy upon your Queen? ' she asked defiant. 'Show yourself! '
The elf stepped out of the shadows, following her command, his hair reflecting the pale moonlight. He looked down at her, with his long eyelashes resting on his high cheekbones and as he approached the bed, she could see his glance laying on her without interruption.
-'Do you not feel fear at all? ' he asked her in a grave, intense voice, that betrayed a slight trace of concern. 'There is no guard posted at your door. '
More than anything, she felt puzzled by this late visit as she immediately recognized the Elvenking. How dared he enter her chambers unannounced? But then he was right, there was no guard stationed at her door, nor has there ever been any. She had no need for one. Sonja managed to suppress both her anger and surprise before answering the King.
-'I have no need for guards', she replied sharply, as she reached to grab a steel sword from under her pillow.
Extending her arm with a quick movement she pointed the blade at him. The elf was getting dangerously close, too close for comfort. She did not want to underestimate his power and the threat that he potentially was to her.
He didn't even blink and no muscle in his face betrayed him. His pupils were narrow and fixed on her.
-'Why have you come? ' she asked him.
His thick eyebrows frowned slightly at the question, but he voiced no answer. Instead he drew nearer, sitting himself on the edge of the bed. The tip of the blade was now touching the pale skin of his neck and he could feel the cold metal slightly piercing his flesh. A few drops of blood fell red against the white sheets as she would not withdraw her blade. When she felt him pushing his neck even stronger against the sharp tip, her hand started to slightly lose its grip on the hilt and she gazed deep into his eyes, in silent questioning.
-'You will not harm me, Queen! ' he finally spoke in a confident tone, low and deep, keeping his chin high and his gaze fixed on hers.
She froze for a moment as she watched him grasping the blade with his right hand. A fine cut was lined against his palm, staining the steel with the warmth of his immortal blood. Still she did not drop her sword. She was mesmerized, too lost inside his piercing blue eyes now, to think about anything else. With a swift pull he freed the weapon from her hands and let it fall on the stone floor. The sound of clinging metal startled Sonja as if she were in a dream. The Elvenking was using his magic on her, of that she was certain, but she was not so sure she wanted to escape the spell anymore.
The smell of his blood made her think of the coming battle. It had a hypnotic grasp over her so when he gently offered his hand, she pressed it close to her mouth, licking the wound and the oozing blood. Thranduil watched her silently as the metallic taste invaded her senses, making her look savage and hungry for more. When he managed to free his palm from hers, his fingers caressed her soft, bloodied lips and drifted over her chin, all the way back to her neck. He could hear her breathing, faster and faster until his hand locked tightly on her neck, pushing her back against the bedrest and making her almost gasp for air. She did not seem to mind it; there was no trace of fear in her gaze. Her dark eyes were so lost in his own that he felt he was now in total control.
He drew closer until he was able to feel her shallow breaths reflected upon his cheek. How different she appeared to him today, his frail, broken human, made into a strong Queen.
A deep passion overtook him and he surrendered to it, allowing it to take root inside his heart. She felt his mouth crumbling onto hers, pressing his lips against her soft ones and claiming them with endless kisses. Sonja did not fight it. His mouth was hot and wet and she let herself be carried away by his movements and caresses. He could feel her burning under his touch but he was unable to gaze into her soul like he once used to. Part of her was still missing, hidden deep inside her lost memories.
And then she suddenly pulled herself off of him, pushing his head back and staring intensely upon his chest. Her eyes fell upon his necklace and she felt like she recognized the round, luminous stone adorning it. She turned slightly to her left, reaching for the hollowed book resting on her nightstand. She opened it and pulled out an identical necklace, showing it to him, deeply surprised at the similarity.
-'Did we know each other? ' she asked while swallowing the knot in her throat, her voice losing all its previous confidence.
The King's eyes lit up at the sight of her necklace and a smile was born in the corner of his mouth. He took the necklace and her small hands in his and closed the gap between the two of them, bringing his face so close to her right ear, that she could feel his warm breath on her skin, sending shivers down her spine. They were both very still in the silence that was surrounding them, entranced by this invisible bond forming across the little space between them. Sonja felt her heart was racing to explode out of her chest and there was nothing she could do to stop it. And that is when he broke the silence whispering her true name, like an echo from the depths of time.
-'Sonja... ' his voice reverberated softly in her ear, like a warm breeze of summer against her face and she felt a wave of memories flooding her mind uncontrollably.
She opened her mouth gasping for air, eyes gazing wide and wet into the dark room. Her chin and lower lip were shaking, betraying her emotions. Thranduil cradled her in his arms, leaving Sonja to gaze absently above his shoulder, until her deep shudders eventually subsided.
-'Brann' the name escaped her lips without notice and she sighed deeply.
Sonja felt the elf's hands loosen their hold around her and she turned to face him once more. His gaze dropped down at the necklace in her small hands as shiny tears were clinging to his dark lashes. But he would not allow them to fall. He knew all too well the consequences of restoring her memory. The King felt her leaning towards him and resting her forehead gently against his own, cupping his face with her palms.
-'Thank you', she whispered, and then kissed him deeply.
He pulled her hands away from his face in silence and looked into her eyes once more. A deep pain was etched inside them, rippling in the black sea of stars. And he could read her thoughts with ease again, just like he had when they first met. He let himself feel what she was feeling, the pain, the sadness, the guilt, the love. But they were not the memories of Brann that haunted her soul. Her dreams were all of him, the fair Elvenking, the one that healed her pains and gave her life purpose again.
She wanted to throw her arms around him, but her body would not listen, she wanted to scream she loved him, but the words wouldn't come out. ''I love you, Thranduil!'' she kept repeating endlessly in her mind. He smiled and brushed his fingers against her lips and she understood in that moment that he was there, in her mind, in her soul and there was no spell or magic that had brought them back together, nothing else except the unbreakable bond that they shared.
-'And I you, my love', he whispered out loud, his mouth searching to meet hers once more. There was no denying what he felt, after millennia of sorrow, he had entrusted his heart to another once more.
And she gave in to his will, surrendering completely into the night.