THE FORGOTTEN
Dedwenir an Ardh Taurdor*
Return to the Woodland Realm
Author's note: The chapter in which – Lothril wakes up her first morning back in the Woodland Realm and tries to get her bearings. …*So, believe it or not, there's not really any official translation of the "Woodland Realm" into Sindarin. But there are, surprise! two different woods for 'forest'. "Taur" which means great wood, huge forest and "eryn" which means wood. So what's a fanfic writer to choose? Well, "taur" also means king of whole tribes, as well as mighty, vast, overwhelming, high, and sublime. So I decided to feed into Thranduil's ego a little and went with "taurdor" which, depending on how vain Thranduil might be feeling that day, can mean woodland, king land, and mighty land, or even sublime land. And for some reason, the Thranduil in my head really likes that idea.
They had reached the gates late and gone straight to bed without seeing anyone besides the guards and some servants. The next morning, as if she had never left, Lothril awoke to see a fire in the hearth, her pack missing from the couch where she had flung it, and her travel clothes missing from the chair where she had left them. The bathroom door opened and out of it came Estelneth, with a curl of steam behind her.
"Good morning, milady," she greeted, bowing.
"Good morning, Estelneth. I confess, I am surprised to see you this morning," Lothril said, sitting up.
Estelneth smiled, "The king sent word ahead of your arrival date and Raithon told me of your late arrival when he returned home after his watch. I have already seen to emptying your pack and sending things out to be cleaned, and have put away your weapons and gear. The king has sent word that he wishes for you to join him at breakfast this morning."
"Oh, then I best hurry," Lothril said, flinging off her blankets.
"He told me he would wait until you awoke and were made ready. It is to be at your leisure," Estelneth replied.
Lothril nodded, and got out of bed then paused and said, "Wait, Raithon told you when he got home?"
"He is my husband," Estelneth answered simply.
Lothril nodded and began heading towards the hot bath Estelneth had ready for her.
"Milady," Estelneth said, following after her, "If I may speak with you a moment sometime today –"
Lothril stopped and turned towards the servant. "Certainly. Speak now if you like."
"There are certain services and duties I performed for the queen that I neglected intentionally when you were here before, as the circumstances were strange and…" Lothril nodded and gestured for her to jump to the point. "Now that you are here to stay and are betrothed to Prince Legolas, you are about to become the highest ranking woman in the kingdom. I would be remiss in my duties if I did not perform them for you now that you are a member of the house of Elrond and are joining the King's family."
Lothril did not reply immediately and turned it over in her mind for a moment before saying, "I have had many strange experiences since we last saw each other and learned much. I have also lost all sense of what is normal or expected, so for a time, I shall place myself in your tutelage as to what is proper for one in my position."
Estelneth bowed and said, "I shall do my best to aid you. There are two things then that I shall tell you right away – first, now that you are living here, you shall have a full staff of servants at your disposal. Before I took liberty by order of the prince to direct a small number of servants for you, but now you shall have a larger number and they shall be under your direction, including me. Going forward, you shall determine what my role is. Second, amongst the services you are entitled to, one is having someone attend you as you bathe."
"You offered that last time. I have never understood why I should need an attendant to bathe, but as the last year or more has been nothing but new experiences, I shall not resist another. Come, attend me if you will," Lothril answered, and turned and headed into the bathroom.
Lothril had gone to bed last night before Estelneth had a chance to reach her room. She had been very tired and decided she did not care about much and slept in her under tunic she had traveled in and left her braids in her hair. Estelneth undid her braids and brushed out her hair as Lothril soaked in the tub. She had to admit, this was nice. As Estelneth washed her hair, Lothril asked her to elaborate a bit on how many servants were going to be on her personal staff, how one might utilize them.
Lothril thought it over a little then said, "You have given me much to consider. What exactly did you do for the queen?"
"I did for her much of what I have done for you. It is why I was chosen to serve you, because it was supposed you would need a personal attendant most and immediately. However, now that you shall be living here, you shall need servants for things such as housekeeping."
"Did you mind directing the servants when I was here last time?" Lothril asked.
"I did not."
"For the time being then, I shall follow your recommendations and leave the ordering if things to you until I figure out how things work and can form some preferences," Lothril said.
"As you wish," Estelneth said.
Lothril sighed and closed her eyes. This was weird and would be more uncomfortable but once again she had been traveling for weeks on end with a predominantly male group and bathing in streams and rivers so Estelneth the female attending her was really substantially less awkward than it would have been back in August. That and whatever she put in the bathwater made it cloudy and smell amazing, so as long as she kept low in the water, there was nothing to worry about.
"Would you like me to wash your hair?" Estelneth asked.
Lothril shrugged. "Oooh… sure. Wash my hair."
After being bathed by somebody else for the first time since she was a toddler, Estelneth left her to dry off and don a robe, then she pulled a bell cord and told the servant that appeared to inform the king Lothril would be ready to see him an hour, then she helped her dry her hair by the fire and then brushed it and pulled back just a small bit and secured it with a small silver barrette shaped like a leaf. She dressed her in a dress that had been brought in with the royal entourage. Lothril recognized it immediately as one of Arwen's and was happy to have something at least quasi-familiar to wear. It was a dark blue velvet dress with red velvet sleeves and embroidery around the neck and the upper arm part of the sleeves. It was a perfect choice for a cool autumn day in the halls of Thranduil. Just as before, she was ready just as a knock came at the door.
Estelneth insisted Lothril meet him in the antechamber and that she answer the door.
"Good morning," Legolas greeted.
"Good morning," Lothril said, feeling ridiculously self-conscious about Estelneth being right there.
"Estelneth, please go inform Filegon that Lady Lothril shall be in need of some new clothes and some alterations and that he shall need to take new measurements for milady. Also tell him that she shall not be available to him until tomorrow at earliest, thank you," Legolas said.
Estelneth gave a nod, a bow, and hurried off.
"Now that we are alone – Good morning, melethril nin!" he said and then kissed her and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
"I slept very well, thank you. How about yourself?" she asked before giving him a kiss of her own.
"Very well. No snoring humans or dwarves, no car horns, no trains, no traffic – naught but the night song of the forest. It was glorious!" Legolas answered with a grin then gave her a sweet, lingering kiss. "But that was better."
Her face split into a grin. He was such a flirt!
"Shall we go?"
"Yes, please," Lothril answered, happily sliding her arm into his.
They weren't but a few feet down the hall when Legolas said, "You look contemplative."
"Estelneth was asking me about how I wish to order servants and how many. I am still trying to sort out what to do with one. I let Estelneth do whatever she suggests because I do not know what else to do with her. I even let her bathe me this morning," she answered.
"Oh?" He sounded genuinely surprised.
She nodded. "I am not sure what I think about it either. Her washing my hair for me was nice, but I cannot say how I feel about the rest of it."
"What about servants?" he asked.
"I told her to order things how she sees best until I have time to form an opinion," she answered.
Legolas chuckled. "That ought to please her. She is very attentive to detail and keen on propriety. It is why father picked her to attend you in the first place."
"You look nice this morning, by the way. It is nice seeing you dressed like a proper elvish prince," Lothril said, admiring his long green robes and lighter green tunic peeking out from beneath.
"Thank you," he said and took her hand from his arm and kissed it then put it back on his arm. "And it is nice seeing you looking like a proper elvish lady. That is one of the dresses Arwen gave you, is it not?"
"It is," Lothril answered. "As Estelneth didn't make me wear a circlet, necklace, and all, I assume breakfast is more relaxed than formal this morning?"
Legolas nodded. "This is simply a family breakfast with Ada, not breakfast with King Thranduil. The usual order of things is that in the mornings Ada and I have breakfast together, lunch is with however much of the family as wishes to eat together which varies day to day, and evenings without feasts or formal functions are either us alone or with family. So not wholly different from what you experienced when you were first here. Except now each morning you are invited to join us if you wish, and as it is all very informal, you can choose not to if you would prefer to eat alone or with someone else. Simply tell Estelneth."
They reached the king's door and Legolas spoke a word and they entered. It was the same anteroom as last time, but the table was not set for breakfast. It was neatly stacked with an assortment of things that seemed to range from papers and books to what Lothril swore looked like bars of soap, small thin blocks of wood, boxes of various sizes, and a stack of folded fabric or cloth of some kind.
"What on earth?" Lothril muttered as they walked through the room.
"This is an anteroom Ada uses for conducting personal business usually. We only breakfasted here that one morning because it was a somewhat official meeting but not quite business of the realm. What is likely is that these are all things he needs to review or samples of things that he needs to choose between or approve before they are used," Legolas answered.
"I see. I am starting to wonder how large his suite of rooms are," Lothril said as they went into a short hallway she had seen Thranduil enter that room from over a year ago. In the hall were three other doors and Legolas led her into the one on the immediate right.
Lothril reckoned the room was the size of her parents' dining room. In the center was a round wooden table, the center leg of which looked like a trunk and the feet roots and the edge of the table had leaves carved in it and the top was inlaid to look like leaves spreading out from the center. The chairs around it were all carved and the seats upholstered with rich dark green fabric. Against the left wall was a sideboard that matched the table laid out with the food for breakfast, against the right wall was what Lothril thought looked like a wall sized stone fireplace, the hearth of which was elevated to about waist height and about eighteen inches deep. A kettle was on the fire, a tea pot warming in an inset, and a variety of teas were all laid out.
"Good morning," Thranduil greeted with a quiet smile. He was sitting on the far side of the table facing the door and before him was a steaming cup of tea. She couldn't see his outfit terribly well, but he looked to be wearing an outfit that was a cross of nine yards of brocaded fabric and casual autumn Thranduil. The robe he wore wasn't particularly ostentatious as it seemed to be a dark rust colored velvet robe that didn't seem to be employing excessive amounts of fabric, though it did just brush the ground in the back when he stood, and a dark silver tunic beneath, which certainly had all kinds of fine silver threads woven in it and embroidery around the collar, but again, the cut was straight forward and he wore with it a brooch made of a white stone.
"Good morning, Ada," Legolas said.
"Good morning," Lothril added.
"Come sit beside me, Lothril," Thranduil said, gesturing to the seat on his right as his left hand was preoccupied with a tea cup. Before Legolas took his seat he gave his father a good morning kiss on the cheek, which Thranduil tilted his head reflexively for. He took a sip of tea then added, "I trust Estelneth has already spoken to you this morning about the ordering of servants?"
"How did you know?" Lothril asked.
"I know Estelneth. She has likely been thinking of it since I first told her you and Legolas were to be betrothed back in April," Thranduil replied. "Now, generally I dislike discussing business first thing at breakfast, but there are one or two little things I want you aware of right away. As you are betrothed to my son and shall be staying with us until you are wed, I will not have you treated as a guest, but as family. I would tell you that you need no longer refer to me as 'your majesty' or 'king', but as you were never in the habit in the first place," a teasing smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, "I shall not require it of you now in private. In official settings, it is another matter and even Legolas must refer to me as such, but I do not foresee you being in such situations until after you are wed, and seldom even at that."
Lothril smiled sheepishly and nodded and thanked him.
"As well, I have already informed the servants that your requests and orders carry the same weight as those from Legolas," Thranduil added.
Lothril looked stunned and said, "Are you sure?"
"Of course! You are my son's betrothed. That is quite enough reason. However, in the way that my kingdom is ordered and given the temperament of some of the lords, I have decided it is best I elevate you to such authority immediately," Thranduil answered.
"Well, I shall yield to your decision. I am afraid I have very little grasp of how all this works, so you must forgive me if I ask a myriad of questions," Lothril said.
The corners of Thranduil's mouth turned into a slight little smile and he said, "You may ask Legolas and me as many as you like and as often as they come to mind. You may even ask Estelneth as she is privy to the entire situation and is the very soul of discretion. However, I would be very judicious in what sort of questions you ask to others."
"Oh?"
"Politics," Legolas answered.
"Ah," Lothril said with a knowing nod.
"Enough business for the moment, breakfast is going to get cold," Thranduil said, "And our breakfasts are quiet and informal, hence everything laid out behind you, and as you are the resident lady, you may go first."
Lothril thanked him and helped herself then Thranduil and Legolas followed suit. Thranduil offered her tea and rattled off all the varieties he had and she settled on peppermint and Legolas insisted on making her cup for her. Thranduil's face didn't betray a thing, but his eyes did seem to glitter merrily watching the two of them go back and forth for a second with Legolas insisting on making it and Lothril insisting she could only to let Legolas go ahead and make her tea after he pointed out he was closer and therefore it was more sensible for him to do it.
"Thranduil, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Lothril ventured after a brief silence.
"Certainly not, you may ask whatever you like," Thranduil said.
"How many rooms do you have in this suite?" Lothril asked.
"Eight. Six on this level and two above," Thranduil replied.
"Eight! Goodness, my parents whole house only had ten," Lothril said.
"These are bigger," Legolas said in a matter of fact way. "By a few hundred square feet."
Lothril shook her head. "I can barely imagine it."
"Would you like to see them sometime?" Thranduil offered.
Lothril was surprised but delighted. She wasn't rude enough to ask, but she was too curious to turn down the offer. "I would."
"Then you shall, but after I have had time to catch up on a few things. I am sure you saw the table in the antechamber covered in things – my desk is equally buried and it shall take me a few days to go through everything," Thranduil said.
"So I imagine then you will be busy for the next while being king and catching up," Lothril commented then took a sip of tea.
"Not exactly. Usually after I am away any length of time, I take a week after my return to catch up on things before I worry about resuming regular duties. This time though, I have informed the court I shall be taking off three weeks before I resume meetings and hearings and the like. Two shall be for catching up and one shall be for you," Thranduil replied.
"For me?" Lothril said, looking utterly surprised and confused, like she could not fathom why anyone would take time off on her account.
Thranduil stared at her a moment, his face inscrutable as Legolas sat there shaking his head and laughing quietly as he spread raspberry jam on his toast. Thranduil looked at Legolas and Lothril knew full well now that they were speaking to each other with ósanwe. The king turned his gaze back to her and said, "I hope to get to know you better before the wedding, and so if you have no other plans and would not mind keeping me company, I would like to spend today with you."
The invitation was unexpected but she very much appreciated the gesture and replied, "I would be delighted."
Conversation for the rest of breakfast drifted here and there, and at the end Legolas informed his father and betrothed that he would not be joining them as he had a number of things he needed to attend to. Thranduil gave him a questioning look, to which Legolas returned a knowing look, and Thranduil gave a slight nod and a grin tugged ever so slightly at the corners of his mouth.
"Very well, but if you change your mind, we shall be about," Thranduil said.
Legolas excused himself and as they were all done eating, the servants cleared the table as Thranduil said to Lothril, "I had hoped last time to give you a tour of my halls, but circumstances did not permit it. If you would like, I would give it to you now."
"I would appreciate it immensely! My stay here last time was so brief, I had no chance to learn my way about," she replied.
Thranduil smiled, "It was far too short a stay last time, but now we shall make up for all the shortcomings of your last visit." He offered her his arm and it felt peculiar being escorted down those halls by someone other than Legolas.
"Whatever shortcomings there may have been, I am certain I did not notice them," she replied as they headed down the hall.
"You are very gracious, but I am sure a week of nothing but horse riding with Brenion, archery with Legolas, late nights and early mornings was necessary, but exhausting," Thranduil said.
"It was, but I was glad of it on the road," she replied.
"Well, in the spirit of making up for last time's shortcomings, tell me of yourself and your family. I recall you mentioning you had a brother and sister. How close are they in age to you?"
"My sister is five years younger than me and my brother two and a half years younger than her. My brother and sister look similar, but neither of them look much like me. My brother has always been big for his age, so oftentimes they are mistaken for twins for they are the same size," she said.
Thranduil seemed amused at that. "Did you all play together as children?"
Lothril gave a short laugh, "Oh goodness no! Julie and Eddie play together all the time and are thick as thieves because they are so close in age, but with me being so much older – I would play with them on occasion, but it usually ended terribly because my brother would annoy me to no end so we did not all three play together much."
"Is seven years so large a span with mortal children?" Thranduil asked.
She nodded. "Very much so."
Thranduil looked thoughtful at that but they had come to the end of the hallway with their rooms on it and to the larger corridor with other hallways coming off of it, a large open space at the end that Lothril knew led, amongst other places, towards the smaller dining room.
"What all is down this corridor?" Lothril asked.
"This is the wing where most of our family lives and rooms reserved for our use. Further on is where certain higher ranking nobles reside and rooms reserved for guests. The halls closest to ours are family and then nobles by rank and how well I can tolerate them," Thranduil answered in a matter of factly way.
Lothril snorted a laugh, "Truly?"
His face was absolutely placid as he replied, "Of course. I have made it no secret either."
"I bet your court is an interesting place," Lothril said.
"You are welcome to sit in on it at any time and find out; but if you should have absolutely anything else you wished to do, I shall tell you I do not hold to or well tolerate flattery and honeyed words. I prefer to know exactly what my courtiers think and think of me and have them know what I think and think of them," he replied.
"I trust you do not punish them for speaking their minds," she commented bluntly.
"Certainly not, or else I should defeat the point of asking for their opinion in the first place," Thranduil answered, rather enjoying her cheek. "Why? Is that a habit of your rulers?"
"Not in the country I came from, but in other countries and in the past, one could be dealt with quite severely for disagreeing with the king or speaking the truth if it disagreed with the official position," she answered.
Thranduil shook his head. "Only the weak and the foolish despise honesty and truth."
"I quite agree," she said.
Thranduil gave a small grin. "Then we ought to get along well."
"I apologize in advance though, for I am not known for my tact," she said.
"I am afraid since my wife sailed, Legolas is the only one of us who possesses tact in any appreciable quantity," he said, the barest hint of a self-deprecating smile.
"And yet he can still be very direct," she commented, thinking back to numerous instances where he cut through her veils and smoke screens and cut right to the heart of things. They had left the long corridor and Thranduil turned her the opposite direction of the dining hall. "Where are we heading first?"
"I think as last time you only saw the dining hall and music room that is mostly for our family's private use, I shall start you with the more public half of things. We shall first head to the ballroom and then the large dining hall and go from there," he answered.
This passage was a little different as there was only a wall on one side and the other side was open to other corridors and things below. Thranduil gave a small smile as he saw her eyes widen as she looked out and began to get a feel for the scale of the place. High windows allowed long shafts of light to pierce down into the lower levels, and along with lights hung at carefully spaced intervals; the entire place seemed to be in an even glow of soft light.
"What is the echo like in here?" she said, craning her neck a little to see how far down it goes.
"Find out," Thranduil said.
She got an impish grin and glanced up at him and then looked out towards the expanse and called out in medium loud voice, "Good morning!"
She heard it echo back, but then the sound of her own voice was drowned out by a chorus of 'good mornings' being called back, until the place was fairly ringing with it. Then she heard a loud tap-tap and the new voices ceased and after a several seconds their echoes all faded. She gave a good laugh, which also echoed but sounded almost more like music as it echoed back to her.
"Is there a main level to this place?" Lothril asked.
"Yes. That is where we are heading," Thranduil answered. "The main level is even with the gate."
"How many levels are there altogether?"
Thranduil gave a soft chuckle "That depends on how you wish to define what a level is. When we began tunneling this out, there were a series of natural caves and tunnels under this hill already and we worked them into the structure of this place, but they were uneven heights from each other and in some cases, like the throne room, they can cut through several floors. If you are counting levels as floors in a human house, then the number can vary significantly depending on where you when you ask the question. However, generally speaking we have it divided up into twelve levels or sections and they include things like where we live, servants quarters, cellars, armories, dungeons, and so forth. The main level is for official use and entertainment; The ballroom, the large dining hall, my throne room, the main library, records room, and such," he answered.
She nodded but said nothing as they turned away from the stairs and headed down a very large and grand corridor. It was nothing so big as that huge hall in Moria where they spent the one night and found Balin's tomb, but it was big enough to almost remind her of a small town main street crossed with a wide forest pathway. The ceiling was upheld by huge pillars carved like trees and lights hanging down from the stone branches. Between some of the stone boles were huge carven doors and as they approached the first ones they would enter, she realized they were carved to reflect what lay behind them. The first set of doors he led her to had handles on the doors that looked like golden harps and was covered in carvings of instruments, musicians, and dancers. The ballroom looked like the outdoor clearing but carved in stone with ornate lamps and lights everywhere. The biggest difference between this and the outdoor clearing she had seen was that there wasn't any grass and that the roof was covered in light colored stone. Thranduil explained that certain placed lights had green glass they were encased in which made the stone look more like green leaves. Suddenly Lothril was very much looking forward to her first indoor dance. After that they went to the large banquet hall which had doors carved with designs that incorporated both food and drink. Inside were four stone trees holding up the four corners of the room and the absolutely biggest tables she had ever seen. After that he showed her the library, the records room briefly, and then brought her to the throne room, the doors of which were the most ornate yet. It was clearly covered in symbols that meant something, but Lothril really didn't know what most of them meant.
"Before we go in," Lothril said quickly as guards moved to open the doors, "would you mind explaining all these symbols* on the door?"
"Not at all," Thranduil smiled. "At the top is the symbol of the crown that was established when my father Oropher was made king. That is the symbol my army fights under." That symbol was a spray of different kinds of green enameled leaves inside a rayed silver star. "Beneath that is my personal emblem and symbol of my house." His personal emblem was a branch with leaf and blossom and the symbol of his house a tree in full blossom. "Beneath that are the symbols of the tribes that were united under my father to create this kingdom." These were larger and slightly more elaborate designs that clearly matched the ones inside the rayed star and acted as symbols of the crown. All of this was framed by half of a large oak tree seeming to come out from the hinge of the left door and half a pine tree coming out from the hinge of the right door, and wound between the symbols were carved designs and spells. In fact, most of the doors seemed to have some sort of spell cast or carved on them.
"What of the oak and the pine?" Lothril asked.
Thranduil almost looked surprised at the question. "As a daughter of Elrond, I supposed you might know that."
She frowned a little. "We did not have time to study elven heraldry very much and I only learned more, shall we say universal symbols. Like stars for Elbereth, birds and wind for Manwë, water for Ulmo, and so forth. And back where I am from these things have some meaning, but I cannot guess if it means the same here."
"What did they mean where you were from?" Thranduil asked.
"Oak usually signified strength or endurance. Pine being evergreen usually symbolized constancy or endurance or in the case of my country, independence and liberty. Then again, in my old country nearly everything meant independence and liberty," Lothril answered.
"From what?" Thranduil asked.
She got a funny grin on her face and answered, "Kings."
"Yet here you are, about to marry a prince. Does that make you a traitor?" Thranduil teased.
She shook her head with a grin. "I reckon not. Once we defeated our former king twice, we became quite friendly with them and were very happy to become their ally and friend and let bygones be bygones. Sometimes I think we like the old crown better than its own people do, but we don't have to deal with it either. We get to see all the glitter and shine and deal with none of the restrictions."
Thranduil got a funny look on his face and said, "I hope you do not find things here too restricting."
"Eh," Lothril hemmed and hawed a second like she couldn't decide whether to say something or not. "Well… judging by things Legolas has said and what I have observed living in Rivendell, brief though it was, I might find it a bit more liberating than what I personally grew up in."
"Oh?"
"To be honest, Legolas could probably explain it to you better than I can," Lothril answered, almost looking a little uncomfortable.
Thranduil let it drop. "Well, in the case of this kingdom, the oak tree does represent strength and the pine tree constancy and endurance. As you have seen the throne room before, would you like to see it again or move on?"
"Oh, if you don't mind, let's move on."
"Would you like to go up or down?"
"Down, I think," she answered.
Thranduil nodded. "Very well. What would you like to see first? The kitchens, the cellars, or the armories?"
"The kitchens," Lothril said. "I am sure I cannot fathom the size of a kitchen needed for a place this big."
"It requires more than one. We have three. The one below is the large one for feasts and celebrations. There is one on the level above us is the one from which most of our meals come, and there is another one for the servants with an attached dining hall for them," Thranduil said.
"Then the outdoor ones near the stables are largely for outdoor workers?" she asked.
"Yes, and soldiers. Unmarried soldiers live in barracks that are closer to the river. Married ones obviously live with their families inside my protected lands and near the palace," he answered.
They headed down the corridor and towards the stairs and proceeded to head down to the next level.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"I assume not related to the palace?"
She nodded. "Why did you and your father leave and come here?"
He did not answer for a moment and his face was unreadable. After a minute he said, "It is a difficult question to answer in brief."
"Would it help if I told you Elrond taught me First Age history?"
"In that case, after Elu Thingol was given the Silmaril and rejected all counsel to return it to the sons of Fëanor, my father knew Doriath was doomed. They seemed to be as cursed as they were beautiful and blessed, and it seemed to him that there was no way things would end well if Thingol insisted on keeping it. Then of course there was the long history of wars and battles against Morgoth and it seemed as if more bloodshed and destruction of all we loved was on the horizon. Little did we know the horrors to come." Thranduil gave a long sigh and turned them from the stairs down a long, wide corridor that was much less ostentatious than the ones above but still carved and very pretty. "We knew there were elves in the east beyond the Misty Mountains, and it seemed they had largely escaped the heartache we had seen. Father assumed our woes were largely due to being involved with the Valar. Indeed, it did seem that the elves closest to them suffered greatest, but looking back one can see things more clearly. If Morgoth had gone unchecked, even the Silvan elves would have been dragged into things eventually. Regardless, it was plain to us that the days of Doriath were numbered and we did not want to be caught up in its downfall, and so my father planned to lead a number of us out into the wild. Before we could leave though the fall of Doriath came and then we fled and went to Lindon and then to Lothlórien briefly then the southern part of Mirkwood. Though it was Greenwood at the time."
"So Oropher did not build this place?" she asked.
"No, I did. Originally we were where Dol Guldor now lies in ruin, but we abandoned it long before the Necromancer took it over," Thranduil answered.
"Why, if I may ask?"
Thranduil got a funny little grin and said, "He was not overly fond of the new neighbors Celeborn and Galadriel. He thought they were part of the problem as her brothers had been in the thick of things against Morgoth, and he considered their appearance in Lothlórien an intrusion. I did not hold his opinion, but my father could be a bit headstrong, so we moved north to the mountains and then north again. I built this place after the Necromancer appeared about two thousand years ago."
"That was my next question," she said with a grin.
"I suspected as much," Thranduil said, his face placid again but a hint of amusement in his voice. He opened the door to the kitchen and immediately the entire kitchen stopped what it was doing and turned to bow. Thranduil gave a slight nod then said, "As you were," and immediately everyone resumed what they were doing as if there had not been an interruption at all.
The head chef seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of them and bowed deeply before them. "Your majesty. What may we do for you this morning?"
"Nothing, Harthion, but thank you. I am merely showing my soon daughter around. Do not let our presence disturb you," Thranduil said.
With another bow, Harthion resumed his work.
Never in all her days had Lothril seen anything like it. "I never thought I would see a kitchen neither this big nor this elegant! Everything from the ovens to the floor to the ceiling is beautiful," she said as she looked about. The stone floor was polished and had intricate patterns carved into it. The stoves and ovens were all polished to shining and had subtle patterns of leaves and branches running throughout.
"I am glad you approve."
She glanced up at him trying to decide if he was being sarcastic or not, but his face betrayed nothing so she tried changing the subject. "What else is on this level?"
"Mostly it is the kitchen, bakery, pantries, breweries, some of the cellars, and so forth."
"Can we look at the bakery?"
"Certainly," he replied. They left the kitchen and walked a ways down the hallway and went into the next door where they were met with the same reaction as the kitchen. The kitchen had smelled nice, but at the moment, Lothril was preferring the smell of the bakery as something apple was baking.
"Whatever they are baking today smells wonderful," Lothril said.
"We are making apple turnovers today, milady," the head baker said, overhearing her. "Would you like one?"
She reflexively glanced at Thranduil then said, "Uh- I would, thank you."
Thranduil added, "We shall take them over at my table, Galor."
"As you wish, your majesty," the head baker replied with a bow.
"Come Lothril," Thranduil said and led her over to a tall pretty little rectangular table over in the corner that had a tall wooden barstools on either side of it. Thranduil let her have the nearest one and he took the further one which afforded a full view of the bakery.
"So is this the official royal sneaking a taste of dessert table?" Lothril asked quietly but clearly teasing.
Thranduil looked quite amused and replied, "More or less. And now that you are here, you are welcome to join Legolas and I when we choose desserts for feasts, dinners, and so on. Which reminds me – you shall need to be officially introduced to court soon."
"Legolas mentioned something along those lines," Lothril said, brows knit and mouth set in a slight frown.
"It is not as grim as all that," Thranduil said with a slight smile teasing his mouth. "And as there is not a precedent for how the prince's betrothed is introduced to court, we may do whatever we like."
Lothril's face lightened up a little at that. "What are you thinking?"
Just then Galor came up with a pair of plates and forks on an elegant looking wooden tray, set down everything for them, and left.
"What makes you think I am thinking anything?" Thranduil asked as he cut off a bite of turnover.
"Well, you showing up in Minas Tirith with an entire betrothal dinner planned, me thoroughly vetted by you interviewing everyone I know in Middle-earth before you even saw me in the city, and you already having a string of orders in place and ready to be executed before we are even returned here twelve hours makes me think you probably have a plan," Lothril replied then took a bite. "Oh wow! This is amazing!"
Thranduil's eyes glittered merrily though his face remained fairly neutral as he said, "Wait until you get to the filling. And I am thinking of a dinner after which there would be music and you could mingle and talk to the lords and ladies at leisure. Unless of course you prefer a more formal interview or some such thing."
"Dinner will be fine," Lothril said. "And mercy sakes alive you were right about this filling!"
"If you like, we can have these turnovers for dessert at your introductory dinner," Thranduil said.
"Can we?"
"We can have whatever you like. This is your introduction to court and the first time you and Legolas shall be presented officially as betrothed. The evening ought to be reflective of the two of you and whatever and however you wish to present yourself to the court," Thranduil said.
"You say that like I have an idea how that should be," Lothril said with a slight frown which melted away as soon as she took another bite of apple turnover. Really, these turnovers could make anyone happy!
Thranduil cut off another bite and after he swallowed said quietly, "If you are worried about how an elven princess ought to behave and present herself, then I will have you know it was not uncommon for my wife to covertly throw acorns at elves that annoyed her during feasts and celebrations. She would always toss them with a high arc so they would think they were getting hit by acorns falling out of the trees. She missed her target once and instead of hitting the lord she was aiming at, it fell right down his wife's dress and we both all but fell over laughing. Thankfully, they were quite on the other side of the clearing and things were loud and boisterous so I do not think they heard us."
"So you are saying I need to work on my underhand throw?" Lothril said with a grin.
Thranduil chuckled and replied, "We shall go outside later and see how accurate you are and go from there."
After the bakery they did a quick tour of the rest of the floor, then of one of the armories on the river level and then he showed her the wine cellar and his private collection.
"This is a large wine cellar," Lothril said as they passed their fifth long shelf full of wine bottles.
"I try to keep well stocked," he said. "This over here is my private collection." He led her over towards an arched wooden door. He opened it and went in first. It was dark until he spoke a word and suddenly all the lights sprang to life. There were shelves lining the walls and three large shelves going down the middle of the room. "Feel free to raid my collection anytime, but do tell me before you take any of the Dorwinion." He pointed to the shelf along the left hand wall. "Also, Bilbo brought me a bottle of Old Winyards his father laid down when he was young and I have been saving it for a special occasion. That is over here," he said, drawing her attention to a smaller shelf in the corner that had seven mismatched bottles on it. "These are particularly special wines and I ask you leave these alone, but the rest of it you are free to drink as you wish."
"Thank you," she said, unable to imagine her coming down here very much until she began perusing the shelves and found an entire shelf of berry wines. "Oh-ho! What have we here?" she said picking up one of the bottles and looking at the label.
"That is a very sweet blackberry wine," he said.
"Oooh," she said with a smile.
"Have you had blackberry wine before?" he asked.
"No, but I love blackberries and I do prefer sweet wines," she answered.
"I always keep some wine cups down here if you would like to try it now, or else we could have it brought up and have it with our luncheon," he suggested. "Or, if you find several you would like to try, we could do an impromptu wine tasting."
"I think I shall pace myself. Would this go with whatever we are having for lunch?" she asked.
"If it does not, we can always enjoy it by itself in the afternoon or evening," he replied.
She nodded and kept looking and made a list of ones she wanted to try and they agreed they would try them over the course of the next several days.
After the wine cellar they toured the rest of the lower levels, except the dungeons, and then headed up to the upper levels and he showed her all the rooms reserved for use by their family at large. These included the dining room she had frequented last time, a music room, a sitting room, and a tennis court that Thranduil informed her doubled as a badminton court and seemed quite pleased to learn she played badminton. Lothril made a note to herself to ask Legolas about the ball situation in the Woodland Realm and had a notion that if they had balls that weren't hard as rocks, she might see about introducing the game of volleyball. There was also a game room that Lothril wondered if it wouldn't be called a billiards room back home. There was what looked to her to be a pool table along with a dart board, a card table that Thranduil informed her could easily be expanded to sit more people, a shelf with a variety of beautiful looking board games like cribbage, chess, and some others she didn't recognize. After that he took her above their bedrooms to show her rooms reserved for exclusive use by the immediate royal family. These included a drawing room, a music room, an art studio that huge windows and let in plenty of natural light and currently had a handful of drawings and paintings hanging on the wall and a work in progress on an easel, another game room, and what Thranduil called a 'pool room'. When he said it Lothril wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but as soon as he opened the door for her she gasped.
It wasn't just some big room with a square swimming pool, it was three cavernous chambers that were open to each other, each with windows carved in it to bring in natural light, and a series of chandeliers and lamps both hanging from the ceiling or mounted on the walls to bring in fire light after the sun went down or add extra light on a cloudy day. From the larger chamber they were in, she could see the other two winging off to the left and right beyond the natural pillars that had been carefully carved and polished. The water in each pool seemed to shine like gems.
"Legolas told me you had a pool for swimming, he didn't say you had three," Lothril said quietly as she gazed around wide eyed.
"We only have one. This one and the one on the left are one massive pool, but there is a natural land bridge that seems to bisect it. In truth, the stone does not go down but an inch past the edge of the water and if you can hold your breath long enough to swim beneath it, you can easily go from one pool to the other without getting out of the water," Thranduil explained.
"How deep is it?" Lothril asked.
"At its deepest point in the other chamber it is fifteen feet deep, so if you are fond of diving, that is the side to do it in," Thranduil answered. "In this part though it is naught more than six foot at deepest."
"What of that pool on the right?" Lothril asked.
"Follow me," he said with a grin. He led her along the edge of the room and into the right hand chamber which immediately felt warmer to her than the other part had. As soon as they were past the carved pillars, Thranduil went over to a large pull cord and began pulling on it. And out of the rock wall a slatted wooden door slid out and closed off the room. "This is a hot spring. We usually leave this part open to the other sections to warm them, but if you are desirous of a steam bath, simply close this and wait. If you prefer soaking in the hot spring, then leave this open."
"Goodness, it is already getting warm in here," Lothril said. "But this room does seem a good deal shorter and smaller than the other two."
"Indeed it is," Thranduil said as he opened the doors back up. "And you are welcome to use this room or any other whenever you please.
"Thank you. I-I am honored, especially as I am not family yet," Lothril said.
"Technically not yet, but I already consider you such," Thranduil said with a warm smile. "I believe it is time for lunch. Shall we go?"
"Oh, yes, let's," Lothril said. She honestly wasn't sure how to respond to the first part. He already considered her family? Really? That was… words like kind and generous flitted through her head along with a feeling of overwhelming. She liked him pretty well, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to call him 'adar' yet. She was still shocked she felt that way about Elrond. To be perfectly honest, and as far as her musings on the topic went, she had never supposed she would be overly comfortable calling her future in-laws 'mom and dad'. Neither of her parents called their in laws 'mom and dad' either. Always by their names. However, Thranduil so far hadn't so much as hinted any expectation of her calling him 'ada' or doing anything like Legolas did, like kiss him good morning and good night. Maybe that was just their thing. She decided to run these thoughts past Legolas later and get his opinion.
They headed back to the dining room and had lunch with Legolas and a couple of Thranduil's cousins along with his Legolas'Aunt Cîlwin and a couple of his cousins. It seemed it was the habit of all their family to join Thranduil and Legolas for lunch. It wasn't all of them all the time, but most of them frequently. As they had joined them for dinner a few times when she was first there, she was at least a little familiar with them all and was happy to get reacquainted with them, knowing she would soon be joining them. They seemed to all get along easily and well together with little tension and she found it actually comforting to be with them.
"How was the tour? Did you see everything there is to see?" Legolas asked with a grin.
"I certainly saw a few things, but I think it will take me weeks to see everything," Lothril said.
"At least," Legolas replied. "And how is Ada as a guide?" he asked with ósanwe.
"Quite good, actually. It was an enjoyable first tour. I missed you though," she replied in kind.
"I missed you also, but I am afraid my business cannot wait and I must resume it after lunch," Legolas said, his thoughts feeling oddly neutral.
"I thought you were taking off until Turuhalmë to spend time with me after I joined you here," she said, her thoughts sounding a mix of teasing and serious.
"I am, and it starts as soon as this is concluded which will hopefully be by dinner tonight. And if you permit me, I shall spend the entire evening making it up to you," Legolas pledged.
"I will hold you to it," she said and then turned her attention to his aunt who was saying something to her.
"Did Thranduil make mention to you of our plans?" Cîlwen asked.
"If he did, I have quite forgotten them," Lothril answered after briefly wracking her brain and drawing nothing.
"I mentioned it but in passing and much has happened between then and now," Thranduil said.
"Ah, then may I do the honors?" Cîlwen asked.
"By all means," Thranduil said with a nod and a smile.
"Thank you," Cîlwen said. "We as a family decided it would be too much to thrust our entire family upon an unsuspecting Gondor for your betrothal, so ere Thranduil left, we agreed that we would readily acknowledge your betrothal in Minas Tirith, but we wish still to celebrate your betrothal with you both. Therefore, at your earliest convenience, we would like to throw you a second betrothal dinner."
"Nethel-naneth (Aunt) Cîlwen, you need not throw us a second dinner. A bit of wine and some dessert with everyone is more than enough," Legolas said with a smile.
"You would deprive us the chance to spend hours in the kitchen slaving over hot stoves and hot ovens to make you dinner in favor of wine and dessert?" Cîlwen asked with a raised brow.
"I certainly would," Legolas replied, unperturbed by the signature mom look.
"I knew you were my favorite nephew for a reason! I will concede, but only if your father provides the wine," Cîlwen
"I think I may be persuaded to do so," Thranduil said with a slight little smile.
Once lunch was finished, everyone went about their business, leaving Thranduil and Lothril alone again.
The lunch menu had not been very complimentary to blackberry wine, so Thranduil called for bread and a particular white cheese and they held a wine tasting.
"What do you think?" Thranduil asked.
She took a second sip, "This is lovely!"
He smiled, "It is a sweet little thing, is it not?"
"Very much so. I prefer wines that taste like juice, I think. Elrond informed me some of his rarer vintages were technically better, but I truly prefer this sort of thing," she said.
"It is likely they were, but truly, it is about whether or not you enjoy what you are drinking – or eating. You can work on refining your tastes and training your pallet to pick up subtleties and nuances in flavors, but if you do not enjoy it, what is the point?" he commented.
"That has generally been my philosophy."
They drank in silence for a little while then Thranduil said, "I remember you saying your mother and father do not drink – did you bring up that you did while you were there?"
Lothril blinked and stared down into her glass for a moment before she answered. "No, I didn't. The subject did not come up and I reckoned it a pointless topic to discuss. I reckoned a more than a few things rather pointless to discuss."
"Such as?"
"Well, I made as little mention as I could of what I did in the war, though it did come up once or twice. I honestly do not want to think much of it."
"I understand that well. I can hardly look east without thinking of it and it pains me."
She nodded. "You understand then. I lost no very close friends, but I still lost people I knew, and though I do not regret one orc I killed, the men I killed… the widows I made… I know if I had not killed them they would have killed me… I know our cause was just… But my father has not gone to war, nor either grandfather for various reasons. They do not understand…" she trailed off.
He looked at her pityingly. He understood. "Those who have not seen war can scarcely understand it. That they have been so blessed as to be spared its horrors – I envy them."
"So do I."
"You have not spoken much of grandparents. Tell me about them."
"Well, they – would you like to see them?"
His eyes grew wide. "See them? Do you possess some art that can see between worlds?"
"No, nothing like that. Though, I guess I could show you memories, but that is not what I was thinking. I have pictures. I brought a book of pictures with me," she explained.
"A book of pictures?" he said, confused.
"It is in my room, if you want to see it."
"Lead on," he said, standing and taking his wine glass and the bottle with him. She grabbed her glass too and he led her back to their hall as she was still not able to find her way, and she had him sit at the table in the anteroom while she fetched her photo album from the bedside table. She brought it back out and they sat next to each other with their backs to the fireplace.
"In my old world, there is a means of creating pictures of moments in time or people nearly instantly," she said as she set the book down in front of them. "We have a mechanical device that does this. It is somewhat complicated, and I do not understand the process fully, though one day I may try to explain it to you better, but regardless – these are true to life images of my kith and kin." She opened up the book and he was greeted by a page with three bright pictures with writing on the page beside them.
"What does this say on the side here?" he asked.
"The names, date, and location of where these pictures were taken and of whom," she answered. She began pointing out who the people were and how old the picture was in relation to when she left and roughly how old each person was when the picture was taken. He saw her grandparents on both sides when they were young and old, her parents when they were children, when they were wed, and how they were when she left, pictures of herself when she was a baby and of her siblings as babies up through their current ages when she left. Mixed in were also pictures of places like the house she grew up in, her grandparents' house, aunts and uncles, cousins, places once visited, and towards the end, even a couple pictures of her and Legolas with a middle-aged woman that Lothril explained was Grandma Sue. He laughed a bit at one of them, as they were sitting on some porch steps and it looked like the woman had just pulled his face down and kissed him on the cheek and he was surprised and Lothril was laughing. The next picture was the three of them sitting there with Legolas in the middle and his arms around both of them. At the very end there was a picture of her whole family and Legolas standing in front of her parent's house. It was a nice portrait of them all and Lothril said it was a small miracle it turned out so well because her brother and sister hate getting their picture taken.
"I am glad they cooperated though. This is a lovely picture and I am very glad you have this. Do you mind if I look at it again?" he asked.
"Not at all," she said, sliding it a little more towards him.
He flipped through the pages again and studied the pictures a little more closely. "This is a wonderful book," he said as he turned another page. "The only pity is that now I have seen their faces, I cannot hear their voices."
"I can remember them," she said. "I remember them clearly if you really want to hear them."
"You can share memories?" he asked, looking at her somewhat surprised.
"I can. Can you not?" she asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"I cannot. I never developed the skill."
"Oh, that was the first thing I did… on accident. I had had a nightmare and Legolas came in to comfort me and I accidentally shared my dream with him. But I have refined and mastered the skill a bit since then, and now I can share or not at will. Would you like to hear them?"
"I would," Thranduil said. He felt her mind and opened his to her and was immediately impressed by the feel of it. As she looked at pictures from events she recalled, she played out her memories for him and let him hear everyone and everything around it. Here and there she added memories that weren't pictured, but went along with whatever celebration or occasion the picture was showing. He could see, hear, and even smell things from certain strong memories – like the hay rides in high summer behind a large, loud white and red thing she called a tractor. He could smell the hay, he could smell the tractor exhaust, he could smell the earth from the dirt roads they were traveling down and the wind in the trees. He could see the faces, he could very nearly taste the roast pig, the watermelon, the buttery corn on the cob… he watched her catch fireflies and watch fireworks being set off by her grandfather, uncle, and dad and smell the strange acrid smoky scent they left in the air, just like Gandalf's would. She showed him scenes from fall and winter holidays, childhood memories, trips to different places. At length she removed herself from his mind and he stared at her for a moment then said, "That was remarkable. I had no idea one could use ósanwe like that. Thank you for showing me those memories. I feel like I have met your kin now."
She smiled, "I have always had a very active imagination. I used to all but see things I imagined in front of my eyes. Elrond and Galadriel both reckoned that is one reason I have taken to the art so well and can use it to such full effect. And you are welcome."
"Did you show your mother and father any of your memories of here like that?" he asked.
"A little. They are wholly unskilled in the art, so it was more difficult to do. I did find though, I could help Legolas and we did share some memories with them of you and your wife. They were Legolas' mostly, but I did share a couple too," she answered. "For what it is worth, they thought you both seemed very nice."
Thranduil got a funny little half grin on his face. "That is something, I suppose. Well now at least you may move forward knowing both families approve the other. Usually, both families know each other or know of each other long before any betrothal takes place and whichever two houses are being united by the betrothed are usually friends long before or soon after the betrothal takes place. The moment I received Legolas' letter I assumed I would never know the faces of your father and mother, never mind hear their voice or have them know anything of me. That Legolas has met them and they approved of him for their daughter and that they know anything of Lauríel and me and seem to think we are nice folk is a blessing I did not anticipate this past spring. I thank you for sharing all this with me."
"You are very welcome," she replied. There was a brief pause before she said, "So… what of your family? I know next to nothing of it save that your wife is named Lauríel, Legolas is your son, Gladhrion your cousin, and Oropher your father."
Thranduil smiled a little and said, "With us here are very few other members of my family, most of which you met again at lunch today, though I can well forgive you for not sorting out which side of the family they are on. There are only Gladhrion and his wife and children, his sister and her husband and their children, and that is all. My mother is named Doroneth and she sailed after my father was killed in the war. My father's brother was killed in the Last Alliance also, that is, Gladhrion's father, and his wife sailed with my mother as did my mother's sister who came with us from Lindon."
"Any brothers or sisters?" Lothril asked.
"Three sisters, all younger than me. My eldest sister Galadis married one of Cirdan's folk and sailed during the First Age. She looked very much like my mother, of whom I have a painting and I will show you later. Her hair was the same color as mine but her eyes were dark blue like our mother's. She was quiet and kind but suffered no fools. Oft she was working with her hands and crafting some new and beautiful thing, singing all the while and enduing it with her spirit. Nîdhiel, my middle sister, most strongly resembled me, but her hair was as golden as honey and her brow not so dark or heavy as mine, but we both possess the same light blue eyes and our faces were similar. She was a bold and fearless thing and nearly my match with any weapon, well, at the time anyway," Thranduil answered and then trailed off into thoughtful silence with a funny little sad smile on his face.
"What happened to her, if you don't mind my asking?"
Thranduil looked at Lothril with a smile that spoke of great sorrow and yet a good amount of humor and said, "In her opinion it was the best possible end, if an end she must have. We were out with a large party hunting wild boar and she found it first and broke off and pursued it with spear in hand. As we were scrambling to catch up, we watched as she threw her spear, and her aim was true but the brute was as clever as it was ferocious and it dodged her spear causing it to only graze it as it charged her. She was fearless and quick as she drew her bow and loosed her arrows, and though three of them found their mark, the boar continued on and managed to attack her and wound her grievously before falling dead. We tended her as best we could but to no avail. Her last words to me were, "If a huntress must die, then this is a good way to die! And I have had my vengeance also. Bury me with the tusks that slew me and make the best bacon out of him that Doriath has ever eaten." She managed a very quiet laugh then took another breath then said, "May Oromë bless his daughter and bring me on his hunts." She then fell silent and passed away a few moments later." He paused and took a deep breath then continued. "I well imagine by now if she is to be reborn, she has been, and I believe her last request has been granted if she is. We buried her grasping the tusks of the boar and the arrows that slew it and as soon as it was done, we heard the sound of a clear, distant horn, the sound of which I have never heard the like of before or since."
Lothril gave a nod and a compassionate smile and said, "Yes, if a huntress must die, that is the best way to go – doing what she loved best."
"Indeed, it is," Thranduil said quietly with a small smile.
Silence settled for a moment before Lothril asked, "What of your third sister?"
"Thîniel was always very studious and she found herself in service of King Thingol. After Thingol was killed and Queen Melian departed Adar feared the doom of Doriath not far behind and we all begged her to leave her position and come with us, but she was also stubborn and would not. Thus we tarried longer than we wished in hopes to persuade her, but we removed ourselves from Menegroth and lived out in the forest. Thîniel would not join us and stayed in Menegroth. She ended up being slain in the Battle of the Thousand Caves," Thranduil answered.
"How horrible, I am so sorry," Lothril said quietly.
Thranduil took a drink then said, "You have naught to be sorry for. It was very long ago and it was not the first or last tragedy I have seen. Fortunately for you though, it seems like the hobbits have put an end to one of the greatest causes of our sorrows and you may get to live a long life of peace. Especially if you both sail in a hundred or so years."
"I hope so too, but it does make my first year here rather ironic. All that time mastering swordplay and frantically learning to be a fighter only to spend all my days with my sword hanging on the wall like a decoration and my bow gathering dust," she mused.
Thranduil looked amused as he said, "Your bow need not gather dust, for these woods are full of game and you may hunt as much as you like. As for your sword, it has been some time since I have had a new partner to spar with and if you like, I would enjoy sparring with you sometimes."
Lothril smiled, "That would be fun! I would love to! You will make a great addition to my list of sparring partners."
"Who else is on that list, out of curiosity?" Thranduil asked.
"For swordplay - Legolas, Glorfindel, Erestor, Lindir, Galdor from the Havens, Celeborn, Elrohir, Elladan, Aragorn, and Boromir son of the late Steward Denethor," she answered.
Thranduil looked impressed. "I shall certainly be in good company. I am a little surprised Lord Elrond is not on that list."
"Oh, that is a thing I mean to remedy come spring," Lothril said, looking surprisingly determined. Then her face immediately switched to a pleasant grin and she asked, "When would you like to fight?"
"Let us do it in two days," Thranduil said.
Lothril's grin widened and she gave a sharp nod.
That evening after dinner there were no particular plans for anything and Thranduil said he wanted to get through some of the stuff on his anteroom table, effectively leaving his son and soon-daughter to their own devices.
"What would you like to do?" Legolas asked.
"Well, I wouldn't mind going back to the game room and trying my hand a few games," Lothril answered.
Legolas led her up to the private game room and shut the door behind them. "What would you like to play first?" he asked.
"Hmm, I think darts," Lothril answered. "But you'll have to tell me the rules because I know nothing about it."
"There are several different games you play with darts, but as you have not played before, we will let our first few games be you simply getting a feel for how to throw the darts and then doing some very simple score keeping if you want. Then we will worry about games," Legolas said.
He fetched the darts from the board and she insisted he throw first so she could see how one throws them. Once his were thrown he said, "Your turn."
She gave a nod and a throw and the dart went wide of the target. "Oh dear," she muttered to herself.
"Focus on your follow through, try to keep your throw straighter," Legolas said.
She nodded and threw the next dart and it landed quite high on the target, almost off of it.
"You let go too soon," Legolas said. "But it went straight."
"I really have no idea why I thought I would be better at these things now that I'm an elf, but I really thought I would. I can throw alright, but this sort of thing gets me every time," she frowned.
Legolas smiled and shook his head at her impatience. "It is lack of practice more than anything else. Dart throwing is a completely different skill from throwing a ball or using a bow. Here, let me help you. We will start on your stance." He moved behind her and as he placed his hands on her shoulders and began to angle them a little more. "Good, now turn your hips to match," he said as he put his hands low on her waist and gently tilted her hips to match.
"Mmm, if you are this hands on helping me with darts, perhaps after this I'll have you help me with pool," Lothril flirted over her shoulder.
"Gladly," Legolas replied before kissing her neck. "But one game at a time. Now, let us work on your hold on the dart," he said as he removed himself from her and plucked the darts from the board.
A little instruction, more than a few kisses, and some gratuitous repositioning of her person which somehow always necessitated him either standing pressed behind her or else him physically moving her into position, she began to get the hang of it and they started an actual game.
"So, what has kept you busy all day?" Lothril asked as Legolas went to throw his first dart.
His focus didn't waver from the board as he replied, "There are a number of things that need attending and sooner rather than later." He tossed the dart and landed just outside the bullseye.
"Such as?" she asked as he prepared to throw his second dart.
He did not answer right away but threw his dart instead and then immediately began lining up his third throw. "My garden has not been tended in a year and is in a dreadful state, and with winter coming on it desperately needs cleaned up before it snows. Especially if we wish to plant cherry trees in it." He threw his dart and it landed a little wide of the second and not near the bullseye at all.
"That makes sense, but why didn't you just tell me that this morning instead of being so cagey?" she asked.
"It is your turn," he replied as he stepped aside.
"Oh, yes, thanks. But that doesn't get you out of answering my question," she said as she tried to line herself up for her first toss.
"I said nothing because I wish for the trees to be a gift to you and I do not want you worrying about them or thinking you must do something in return," Legolas answered.
She tossed and her dart was a bit lower than she thought she was aiming for, but she thought she might know how to correct it. She glanced over at him then focused back on the board. "But it's rude not to give a gift in return," she protested.
"Says who?" Legolas asked.
"Isn't it?" she asked as she looked at him with an expression that clearly conveyed she thought so until two seconds ago.
"Not amongst elves. There is no rule written or otherwise saying if one is given a gift, one must return a gift. A gift is a gift with no strings attached," Legolas answered. "Besides, gift giving is not your natural means of expressing your affections."
She frowned and lowered her arm a little but kept staring at the dartboard. "It still feels lopsided. I have a mountain of clothes and jewelry and gems and I have given you nothing."
"What do you mean you have given me nothing?" Legolas said, taking her other hand that wasn't holding a dart and so drawing her gaze to his. "You give me your trust, you give me your love, you give me your kisses, you give me your touch, and you have given me what is rapidly approaching a whole book's worth of verse I have started copying down. The things you give are not things that can be held in the hand, but rather things that are held in the heart where I treasure them. Never think you give me nothing. You give me yourself."
She blushed a little. "Well when you say it like that…"
"That is exactly how it ought to be said and that is exactly how you ought to think of it. Just because you express yourself differently than I do, does not mean you do not express them at all," he said and gave her a kiss. "In fact, you are one of the most giving and loving people I know. You pour yourself into everyone around you and you do it reflexively. It is one of the things I love and respect about you."
She had been about ready to throw but balked and started to blush faintly. She realigned herself and threw her second dart and it landed just above the first. Oh huzzah! She might just be getting the hang of this!
"Does this mean you are going to be spending a bunch of time in the garden until the snow flies?" she asked, changing the subject.
He let her change it knowing full well she would mull over his words later. "I shall spend some time there, but I shall also be turning over a certain number of tasks to be done to the gardener," he replied. "I do not mind letting him clear out the weeds amongst my lily of the valley, woodland phlox, and lothil but I do want to rearrange things to accommodate your cherry trees myself."
"Why didn't the gardener tend your garden while you were gone?" Lothril asked.
"It is my personal garden. I tend it for my own amusement. To have a gardener working on it would defeat the purpose of it. Besides, I forgot to ask before I left," he answered.
She smiled and threw her third dart which went exactly where she wanted it to, shockingly enough. "Well, that's fair."
"Will you pardon me then if I am working on things on and off before the snow falls?" he asked.
"As it selfishly plays into my love of black cherries, yes," she replied in a very matter of fact way.
Legolas chuckled, "Goodness, how I love you!" Then he gave her a kiss.
"Do you always call gardening 'business'?" she asked, the wording from earlier coming back to mind suddenly.
Legolas gave a funny little smile and replied, "It is a long held habit. Between my duties as prince, a commander, and my private affairs I have fallen into the habit of simply referring to anything I need to do as business. Generally speaking, it is better that not everyone knows what specifically I am up to as much of it is tied to me being prince and a commander and even fewer need to know my private affairs. Therefore, anything I am doing is simply 'business'."
"That makes sense," Lothril said.
"Are you interested in trying again?" Legolas asked, nodding towards the dartboard.
"Huh? Oh, yes. I think I'm getting the hang of it. I think I might rather enjoy this game," Lothril answered.
Legolas plucked the darts from the board, gave her hers, and he threw again.
"Out of sheer curiosity," Lothril began after he threw his first dart, "what sort of private affairs does a prince have that isn't official business of the realm?"
He threw his second dart as he thought about how to answer. "I think I must acquaint you with how we use the terms first. Private or personal affairs can range from anything from hobbies to friends to managing my finances and none of those things are official business."
"Your finances? I have been wondering what you meant since that first dinner with your father in Minas Tirith when you said you were using your own purse and then he said you could use the official one. How does that work?" she asked.
He threw the third dart and stepped aside so she could throw.
"Ada and I have our own private purses. We are actually paid for being king and prince and it is quite separate from anything that goes into the royal treasury. That was a bit wide, meleth nin, because your follow through was starting to cross over yourself again."
"Oh, thanks. I never actually thought about you being paid. I just supposed the king could dip into the royal treasury whenever he pleased," Lothril said thoughtfully before returning her attention to the game and focusing on her next throw.
"Yes and no. The king can make a decree to authorize use of the royal treasury, but it is subject to review by the council of lords and they can dispute it if they have an overwhelming majority. However, Ada is not in the habit of abusing the royal purse so on the odd occasion he does use it for things without running past the council first, they generally do not contest it," he answered.
She threw her third and landed so close to the bullseye she actually let out a happy squeak. "That was almost a bullseye!"
Legolas' face split into a grin. She was utterly adorable when she got excited! "Good job! Another throw like that and you may get it next time. And we have now tied this round. Shall we go again?"
"Oh yes! I want to try for a bullseye!" she said excitedly.
He threw his arms around, pinning her arms to her sides in the process and blurted out, "I love you beyond words!"
"Well… okay. I love you too, but what brought on this random declaration?" Lothril replied, ever grateful for a hug but confused a bit why he was suddenly pinning her with it and just blurting out 'I love you'.
"You. Just you," he answered as he let her go and then gave her a kiss and went to fetch the darts.
The kiss said it all really. He was amused, wildly enamored, and he felt like he was going to burst with joy. Lothril was thrilled by all this, but seriously confused about what brought this on… but she loved him for it anyway.
"Here you are, melethril," he said, handing her the darts again.
He threw his first dart and then Lothril asked, "So you mentioned friends – do you suppose I shall meet them soon?"
"Most likely," Legolas replied as he threw his second dart. "If in our wandering around we come across one, I shall surely introduce you. Otherwise, sometime in the coming weeks I will arrange a party or something so you can meet them." He threw the third dart and then stepped aside.
"What sort of elves does a prince befriend?" she asked.
"Same as anyone else I suppose – certain members out of the ones one naturally spends time with. Many of my friends are commanders or elves I work with regularly, and some of my kin of course," he answered.
She nodded, focused on her throw and landed just an inch off from the bullseye. She was going to hit it this round, she could feel it! "Anyone I have met, besides your family members that is?"
"Hmm… Brenion would be the only one, I think," Legolas answered.
"Brenion? That's allowed?"
"Ada has teased me for years about having strange friends," Legolas commented with a grin.
Lothril thought it over a second then gave a half shrug and then focused and threw her second dart. "Bullseye! YES!" she yelled and threw her arms up in the air.
Legolas wanted to burst with happiness just watching her celebrate, but before he could even move, she took her third dart, aimed, threw, and –
"BULLSEYE! That's two in a row! WOOHOO!" she cheered and began bouncing up and down excitedly.
She turned towards Legolas and before she could fully process the strange look on his face he had her swept up in his arms, mouth crushed to hers, and up against something flat and hard, but she couldn't immediately tell if she was standing or lying down. She felt almost swamped by all the things he was feeling and it sent her mind in a whirl.
As soon as he broke the kiss he looked at her and said, "I love you more than tongue can tell!"
"I noticed! You're very affectionate this evening. Any particular reason for this sudden show of affection and pinning me against the wall?" she asked, loving him holding her and kissing her like that, but very confused as to why all the sudden and so… so… insistently.
"Only you being gloriously you. I like you being you," he replied with another kiss. "Never cease to be you," he added before giving her another longer, slower kiss. "Ever."
Author's note: *The only thing we actually know about heraldic symbols for Thranduil is that his banner is green. For all we know, it's a solid green piece of fabric. Which meant that this was a perfect place for me to just go crazy and make up things! And I am using it to sort of explain the structure of the realm a little.