Chapter 07

Our Little Games

Thranduil could feel his companion's eyes boring through him as they walked silently side-by side. He ignored her purposely, setting his gaze up ahead. In all honesty, he did not know where he was going, but Erynlith seemed to be satisfied in following him around. He felt an urge to glance at her, and he did, meeting her grey eyes for a split second. He refrained sighing; it would be awkward to do so. Instead, he dipped his hands in his pockets and was surprised by the sudden coldness. He felt for the tip of the blade, suddenly remembering he had taken two daggers from the infirmary earlier. Then, he smirked, pulling one dagger for his eccentric companion to see.

"I have something for you," he said and showed the blades. Erynlith's eyes widened at the sight of those.

Acting on impulse, she reached out to grab it, but Thranduil easily held it up, smirking. Again, she tried, running after the outstretched hand, trying to get hold of her daggers, and the other elf laughed at the sight. She looked like a child being captivated by a toy.

"Give that back!" Erynlith shouted as she jumped.

He withdrew his hand away for her. "No."

Her face flushed in frustration. Still, Erynlith jumped and held Thranduil's arm but to reach the daggers, there was no avail. "Give it back, I said!" she shouted again, getting tired of his antics.

Erynlith supported herself by gripping his shoulder, and then jumped to snatch the daggers. But Thranduil anticipated this, and countered her attempt by swinging his hand out of the way. Luckily, no elves were around to witness such foolish and childlike play. She panted and glared at him, to which he only returned with a mocking grin.

"You are acting like a child!" she exclaimed. "I demand you to give that back!"

"Beg me." Thranduil's voice was deep with mockery.

"Not-on-your-life," Erynlith quickly said. She clutched her long skirt out of the way and charged again, only to be dodged, and she hit her forehead on the wooden railing behind.

"Ow!" she cried, covering her aching forehead. Thranduil stopped and quickly rushed towards her, scanning if her forehead was in any way damaged. The King Oropher would surely be disappointed the way his son treated their guest from Imladris.

Just as Thranduil knelt beside her, Erynlith reached out for the dagger, but it was whisked away again. Looking up at him, she was greeted by another smug look. "Nice try, little one," he smirked, standing up from his kneeling position.

Thranduil left her sitting on the ground, her legs crossed as she glared profusely at him. He held back an upcoming laughter, biting his lower lip as he did so. As in mockery, he showed the dagger and twirled it again between his fingers, ever so skillfully. He heard Erynlith muttering something under her breath as she stood up and fixed her skirt.

"This is most likely yours, isn't it?" he crooned, casually leaning one arm above the wooden railing. "Aren't you going to get this back?"

Erynlith rolled her eyes at him, feeling like a complete idiot for playing his game. She huffed and turned away. Thranduil followed, of course, and he placed the dagger back into his pocket. He knew the little game would be over, and it was fun while it lasted. It was not everyday someone got to play around with the Prince of Greenwood, after all. And she didn't have the slightest idea of who he was.

As they marched on, Thranduil realized that Erynlith was not returning to the infirmary yet. It was still early in the afternoon, too soon for her to report back to Santien. And so, they walked again in awkward silence, with Erynlith trying to ignore the elf behind her. They passed the Elven-guard's outpost, and Thranduil was surprised that some of the guards knew Erynlith. She was greeted by the guards, and was even asked to sing for them again that night.

So Raithon was telling the truth, he thought as the guards also acknowledged him. Erynlith turned to him in confusion, wondering why the guards were putting so much respect on this arrogant elf.

This is worth a tease, Thranduil thought. "So, you have met the King, haven't you?"

Erynlith did not look at him, but she shrugged. "I don't know. He never visited the infirmary anyway."

He could almost gawk at her absentmindedness. Wasn't she standing face-to-face with the King some twenty minutes earlier? How could she not pick that small detail up? What was wrong with her? Apparently, everything was wrong with her. Thranduil was very much convinced she was deluded.

"Have you ever thought of the King having a son?" he continued, mentally adding 'an extremely flawless son'.

She gave him a useless shrug. "Doesn't matter."

He blinked at her and tried again. "Have you met royalty in your life? Some king or prince perhaps?"

"Believe me," Erynlith sighed. "I know two of them, and they are pesky. One is too territorial and the other too humble. Don't ask."

He was disappointed not to hear her sing her words. "Would it surprise if you if I tell you some of my secrets?" Thranduil simpered and smirked down at her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Like what?"

"That I am a prince."

"Who is?"

"I am."

"Am what?"

"A prince?"

"Who?"

"I am a prince."

She snorted. "Yeah, and I'm the princess of some place. Good for you."

"No, I am serious. Dead serious," Thranduil said.

"Oh, I was being serious, too." Erynlith rolled her eyes again, already tiring out of this little game.

"Serious?" Thranduil crooned mockingly, blocking her way. "Is that how you sound by being serious?" Erynlith finally turned to face him, glaring. But, he continued: "Serious… really? Why am I not hearing anymore of this 'tra-la-la' thing of yours?"

Her face flushed in embarrassment; that was only for Erestor to hear. She bit her lip, feeling helpless at his taunting assault. She was not the one for violent outbursts, but she accounted herself for being sharp-tongued. Her arguments with Erestor were mostly sarcastic and childish, never going too far. And he was patient with her as she was with him. She looked up again at Thranduil; his smile alone was mocking her. She searched for an excuse.

But Thranduil continued again: "What? You are speechless, tra-la-lay." He mocked in a singsong manner.

She fumed at that. Letting go of her frustration, she pushed him out of the way. "Don't talk to me ever again!"

"Tra-la-la?" Thranduil insisted, chuckling as he watched her walk away.

When Erynlith did not look at him, he huffed and turned his heels back into the palace. He clenched his jaw sternly, suddenly feeling the rush of disappointment within him, and he didn't even know why. He expected that Erynlith would snap something sarcastic back, something that would keep the tease and conversation going, but she did not.

As he reentered the palace, his disappointment turned into irritation. He ignored the Silvan elves greeting him, and had almost ignored Raithon.

"Hey!" The Captain tapped his friend's shoulder. He was clad in a green and brown hunter's garb, a bow and quiver strapped behind his back. Thranduil looked at him blankly. "Are you alright? Did something happen?"

Thranduil shook his head back and closed his eyes. "Yeah, um, just a little dazed, I guess. What's up?"

Raithon looked unconvinced. "Well, since you have been with your little lady, the other guards told me she'll be visiting the outpost tonight. Maybe you should come. You missed her last night?"

"Not interested," Thranduil said. "I don't really feel enthusiastic about that. And since when did she become an entertainer? The King wouldn't appreciate if she was treated as such."

"Come on!" Raithon laughed. "She's not the only one. Some of the healers are coming, too. I don't know about Santien though. She basically hates people on a daily basis. It will just be a little feast, like we always do in the spring, remember?"

The blond shrugged.

"You're not really coming?"

"I'll think about it." But Thranduil was less than interested to even go.

"Well, do think about it," Raithon insisted, walking away. He waved a hand at his friend. "I have to patrol the forest before returning to the outpost. Wargs are still lingering near the river, those wicked creatures. See you later!"

Thranduil sighed at the enthusiasm of his friend. Why couldn't he be like Raithon?

It was still afternoon and he felt as if his energy was already drained. He removed his silver brocade and the white daggers in his pocket, his circlet and ring carefully placed aside. Then, he flopped on his bed, feeling sleep all of a sudden. His thoughts returned to what his energetic friend had told him, that Erynlith and the other healers would be spending a little feast in the Elven-guard's outpost. Somehow, it was good to know Erynlith was making friends aside Erestor and Santien. But there was something ticking him off badly.

Erynlith dropped into her knees and placed the bouquet of bluebells down. She stared intently at the little fox in front of her; she was convinced it was the same fox she "befriended" almost a week ago. She smiled and reached out for its head, and it obliged immediately, scrambling with its little feet towards her. It sniffed her dress and then the bluebells; that small black nose wiggled around for treats. Erynlith patted the head and picked up the bouquet for Erestor.

"I'll see you later, puppy, tra-la-la…" she cooed and returned to the infirmary.

"Where have you been?" Santien asked impatiently. Her arms were crossed and her eyebrow arched snobbishly. "I told you to be back by afternoon."

Erynlith shrugged. "I said I'll be back later, tra-lo. Is Erestor awake yet?" She frowned when he was still lying on bed. She turned to Santien again. "Well, now what?"

The auburn-haired healer shook her head. "You can help me with them if you want. You don't have anything to do later this day?"

"Not that I know of, tra-lil-lay" Erynlith sang. She remembered the offer of the guards. Her first time in the outpost was a rather enjoyable one. They were all friendly and full of humor; she preferred their company more than Thranduil's. "The guards said something about a little get-together in the outpost again, tra-la," she said.

"And you're coming?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Santien did not look happy about it. "Suit yourself."

The following night, some of the healers fetched Erynlith from infirmary. They were all ecstatic about having a little feast, and they practically dragged Erynlith out. It was indeed a small feast, few Silvan elves were present. Bread and wine and fruits were served; the minstrels were on one corner. It was a rather quiet event; the guards were too careful to create much noise. Erynlith sat in the crowd of healers, and the Captain of the Guards smiled and sat down beside her.

"Erynlith, yes?" he asked cordially, and then sipped lightly from his wine. He had a comely appearance in contrast with his companions, and his bright smile had always been a bonus to his cheerful demeanor.

She nodded and smiled. "Raithon?"

"You remember!" the captain beamed happily, and she laughed. She liked him better than a certain blond elf. "Are you having a good time? Just tell me, we can spur things up, you know."

"I'll tell you," she said, and felt another need to add 'tra-la-la'. Just remembering that made her miss Erestor.

It went on and went. Elves interacted, made friends, and shared idle talks. It was all good before a series of howling interrupted the singing of the minstrels. Everyone stopped and looked up. The Silvan citizens huddled closer together as the Elven-guard suddenly went into position. They dropped their drinks and grabbed their bows and arrows. Raithon commanded them; his once friendly demeanor was turned into this battle-ready captain. Erynlith watched in awe; he was like Erestor in some way. Welcoming but deadly. Seriously deadly. As the Elven-guard was about to leave the outpost, Raithon's commands were dominated by the sound of panicked horse neighs.

"Arcastar?" Erynlith looked outside. Indeed, it was her black horse that was neighing and sprinting wildly in the forest. How did it get out of the stables? She hurried towards her horse to calm him down, but as Arcastar thrashed around, kicking and rearing nonstop, Erynlith was thrown onto its back. She gasped and clutched on the horse's dark mane as it bolted away from the outpost, the howls of the wargs echoing behind them.

It was dinner by then. He and his father talked about nothing in particular, only little reports in the palace here and there. Oropher inquired about Thranduil's activities today, which were answered truthfully. Thranduil left out the little game with Erynlith that afternoon, still feeling quite irritated for some reason. But then, Oropher brought the topic up much to son's annoyance.

"You've talked to her?" the King had asked him. "She seems like a nice maid."

Thranduil shrugged lazily. "Sort of."

The King paused, suddenly concerned. Perchance it was no time for fun and games after all. "Did something happen?"

And it was their conversation in a nutshell. Thranduil excused himself after that. He was convinced that he would return to his cold chambers and spend the rest of the night there. As he went closer to his beloved chambers, his skin tingled with the anticipation for a hot bath, Raithon ran up to him with some of the guards.

"Raithon," the blond addressed his friend.

"I have been looking for you!" Raithon said, taking Thranduil by the arm and pulling him with them. The Prince gave his friend an annoyed look. "No time to explain!" the dark-haired elf said; his steps had became faster until he and Thranduil were practically running in the forest. "Your new friend has left Greenwood. To make things worse, she and her horse are followed by Wargs!"

The blood in Thranduil's vein ran cold and he felt his strides getting longer and faster with each passing moment.

Next Chapter: The trouble continues and it drags someone else into the field. Who? Warning: Lots of action scenes!

Author's Notes: Yes, I made them play like little children ( ._.) But it looks like Thranduil gets oversensitive when things don't go his way.

*Rousdower - Thank you very much for the suggestion! I think I'm starting to picture another OC now. We'll give Mr. Grumpy-Pants-Marchwarden Haldir a weird OC, won't we? Someone who annoys him constantly? *insert evil laugh here*

*DeLacus - #LorienDoubleA made me laugh so hard! XDDD I just realized their names do start with A! Their team sounds like a badass action movie! Someone needs to raise awareness of their pair, and so is the #TeamSindarinElves or more like Daddy Oropher and Thranduil, I 'unno. And yes, Raithon! Yay, thanks so much! *eats more cheesecake* Where do this stuff come from? LOL.

*asopo339 - Thank you very much! I must warn you though, this fic gets darker with each chapter. （°o°；） Hope I didn't scare you. I'm so sorry!

*xSiriuslyPadfoot - Long reviews are always welcomed! Thank you for the suggestion too! Cheers!

P.S. My friend said the Battle of the Five Armies trailer will come out on Friday. *le gasp* But I'm not sure if it will, just a rumor I guess. If it will come out, take this as an early gift from me! Can't wait to see Thranduil and his elves in armor! *drools*

P.P.S. Please review! Reviews are wonderful things to have, like pizza... or chocolates and cookies... But reviews are better! :) Laters!~