Elrond's feet were glued to the floor as he stood where Tamuril had left him, staring at the closed door of his chamber in shock. What had happened? He had been prepared for an argument, for yelling, for something… but not for that.
Not for Tamuril kissing him.
What possessed her, he didn't know, but he knew that she was not in her right mind and did not entirely hold it against her. He had a difficult time sorting through this in his head. Did it mean that she had feelings for him? No, he concluded, because then they wouldn't be in this situation. Well… actually, they would… because he could not return any feelings. When he had wished to take it from her, it hadn't even crossed his mind that she might react impulsively like that, seek that sort of comfort - especially not with him, of all people. But the more he thought it over, the more sense it began to make. It was natural that she would be feeling lonely and the impulsive human part of her had always tended to be a little more in control, especially when she was emotional.
His feet moved as he forced himself to hurry out of his chambers to go looking for her. He couldn't let her think he was angry with her.
"What happened in here?" Thranduil asked from the doorway, causing Tamuril to jump, startled yet again.
"Nothing." She said immediately and then realised he was talking about the broken vase on the floor, her gaze following his to the pieces that lay beside the desk. "I, uh, it was an accident. I stumbled."
"You stumbled." It wasn't a question and Thranduil's tone sounded like he didn't believe her. His gaze briefly scanned over the items she had been packing haphazardly into the pack on the bed. Tamuril eyed him, wondering what he was thinking and why he kept turning up all the time. It was starting to get annoying but that could just be because she was in such a mood.
Thranduil bent down, starting to pick up the pieces of broken vase. Tamuril gaped at him. "Your Highness! You do not… I will do it!"
Thranduil waved her off, not looking at her. He delicately collected the pieces and deposited them in a little pile on a nearby towel that could be easily disposed of so they were all in one place and fingers would be protected from the jagged edges.
He looked up when he heard movement in the doorway, meeting Elrond's expression. The Lord of Rivendell looked dazed, mildly panicked, and he obviously hadn't expected to see Thranduil standing here. The King raised an eyebrow at him, turning to look between the two of them and quickly coming to the conclusion that whatever was the cause of Tamuril's broken vase might just be down to Elrond.
"I must tend to my Elk. Assure he is fit for the journey home." He stated, giving Elrond a look that he couldn't decipher. Then Thranduil turned, taking the towel and broken vase with him, and strode from the room.
The silence that followed his retreat was deafening.
Tamuril didn't look at Elrond and Elrond didn't look away from Tamuril.
"What are you doing?" He finally asked, his gaze dropping to the bag.
"Packing." She whispered, the fight gone from her, shame and embarrassment taking complete control. She couldn't look at him, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her deep into the depths of the world, never to return.
"Where will you go?" Elrond wondered what her plan was.
Tamuril paused. She had been expecting him to question her, push and poke at her decision, try and stop her maybe. That's what he would normally do.
He must really want her to leave.
She couldn't blame him, not after what she had done, and after his mentioning of putting her on a ship earlier. She had been nothing but a burden to him and now, with this, she had really overstepped.
Elrond actually didn't want her to leave, not in the least. He wanted to talk about this with her and he wanted to fix it. He wanted to hold her and he wanted her to actually say what she was feeling, he wanted her to process her emotions and he wanted her to either find joy in life again or he wanted to put her on a boat and send her across the sea.
So why wasn't he trying to stop her?
Maybe she had hurt him, with the things she had said. That she was tired of the way he looked at her. Tired of his pity. Tired of him treating her like she was made of glass.
True, he had been careful with her. Gentle. He had treated her like she was fragile but… he believed that she was fragile. She needed care and he had tried very hard to give her that, he had tried to look after her. He was also holding onto the way she had snapped at him a week ago, the way she'd told him that he should not have sent Haldir off to die. He had believed that she didn't mean it at the time but now he was not so sure. Maybe she did mean it. Maybe even subconsciously.
Regardless, he wasn't going to let her run off into the blue and disappear. He wanted to know she had a plan because he was certain that he would not be able to convince her to stay if he tried… and his will to try wasn't as strong as it might have been in the past.
Tamuril panicked, not wanting to admit that she didn't actually have a plan. That she had thrown her belongings into a bag on impulse after embarrassing herself shockingly by throwing herself at the only father figure she had ever known. Her greatest protected, the one man she respected above all others.
"Mirkwood." She said quickly, the word just tumbling out of her before she could even really stop it.
Elrond's eyebrows drew together as he looked at her.
She ignored the frown and looked away again, unable to look at him for more than a half second. She supposed that was an improvement from when he'd first walked into the room.
"King Thranduil…" She scrambled, thinking back to the fact that he had been here when Elrond had left. "He has offered me a place in the realm… for a while." She cleared her throat, hoping beyond hope that he didn't catch her in such a lie… and then she felt a cold panic course through her as she wondered what the hell Thranduil was going to say.
She was going to be found out and she'd just be made even more of a fool of… but she didn't take the words back.
"I see." Elrond stared at her quietly, feeling his heart break a little. He didn't know how they had gotten here. Did she truly resent him so much now? He supposed that he could not blame her. He was part of the reason her life was now in pieces.
"He leaves at dawn." Elrond said, turning and striding from the room, pulling the door closed behind him. It slammed a little more than it should have and he winced, slowing his pace a little, but then he continued on. He wanted to speak to Thranduil.